Tesla’s latest update to its Full Self Driving (FSD) beta software came with arguably more anticipation than before.
Along with CEO Elon Musk talking up 10.2 on Twitter, it came after the tech firm drafted a ‘safety score’ system that would rate drivers’ ability based on somewhat debatable parameters. It was also launched amid a federal investigation into Tesla Autopilot.
Several Tesla owners have published videos of their cars driving autonomously with FSD 10.2 enabled, resulting in plenty of curious watching for tech and car fans alike. And the below clip from YouTube account Detroit Tesla is one of the more comprehensive.
The video shows a Tesla tackling the streets of inner-city detroit. These are fairly challenging roads, with many not featuring a defined center lane, plenty of surface changes, plenty of traffic, and lots of busy intersections with no traffic lights.
While the 10.2-equipped Model 3 performs well most of the time in the 28 minutes of vision, it also seems frequently hesitant. At points, it’s capable of stopping and navigating intersections with no trouble, but at other points it slows to a near stop for seemingly no reason.
The Tesla displays plenty of interesting quirks along the way, like how it creeps forwards when stopped at intersections to increase its visibility. The driver talks about having to ‘give the car a boost’ every now and again, in the form of some right-foot accelerator encouragement when it’s hesitating.
All the while, the touchscreen at the centre of the dash shows ‘what the Tesla sees’ in real time. More than that, it also occasionally shows the Tesla’s brain at work, too. For instance, at one point the car is stuck behind a truck that’s partially blocking the primary lane while trying to enter a turning lane.
In this case, you can see the ‘pathline’ of the Tesla on the screen as it considers simply sitting behind the truck, then considers driving temporarily on the wrong side of the road to get around the truck before rejoining the correct lane. Eventually the driver decides to take over controls and do the move himself.
All in all, it’s a fascinating watch that shows how far FSD has come. And, arguably, how far it still has to go.
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