Totally unimpressed. That’s how I felt after watching Tesla’s Full Self-Driving system in action on heavily snowed roads somewhere in Canada. It is like watching a rookie driver taking their first outing in cold and slippery conditions: the thing seems unsure of itself, makes mistakes, gives up at times and hands over controls, and it overall looks like a menace to itself and others around it.
But first, some background. North America is still experiencing a hell of a winter storm these days, with about 40 inches (over one meter) of snow coming down in some areas, people getting trapped in their cars, and power outages and casualties reported in several areas across America and Canada.
On a separate note, Tesla is fresh from releasing its annual 2022 Holiday Update, which brought with it several novelties, including Apple Music, Mahjong, Steam, and an improved Light Show. Oh, and the Full Self-Driving (FSD) system has been tweaked a bit as well.
So, what happens when mother nature and the most recent variant of the Tesla automated systems meet? Nothing impressive, let me tell you.
Somewhere over in snow-covered Canada, some guy with an eerie Arnold Schwarzenegger-like accent (check the video attached below and you’ll instantly know what I mean) decided this week to take the FSD out for a spin and film it all. And the results are, as said, horrible, although not entirely unexpected.
First of all, we all know driving in the snow is not easy. We get poor visibility and slippery roads, and that seems to make any car feel like it’s got a mind of its own. And things are not easy for vehicles that actually do have a mind of their own either, like FSD-equipped Teslas.
The clip you’re about to watch is some 12 minutes long, but it’s worth every second, not because it has any kind of cinematographic value (not even on account of Arnie’s shadow dangling over it), but because it might teach others, including the ones that trust FSD with pretty much everything, how unreliable the system is in certain conditions.
You’re about the experience a Tesla that often picks the wrong lane (and that’s understandable, given how not much of the road is visible), tends to turn left or right when there’s no need to (as it tries to again pick the wrong lane) and has some of its features disabled from time to time. The car misses turns, goes into curbs too fast for comfort, and even loses track of its destination. More than once, the driver has to step in and disengage the FSD as he tries to mitigate the dangerous situations the car gets itself into.
For reference, we’ll tell you the Tesla is running FSD Beta 10.69.25 and has the full Holiday Update installed.
Daniel loves writing (or so he claims), and he uses this skill to offer readers a "behind the scenes" look at the automotive industry. He also enjoys talking about space exploration and robots, because in his view the only way forward for humanity is away from this planet, in metal bodies. Full profile
Would you like AUTOEVOLUTION to send you notifications?
Google News