Report: Tesla FSD Works Well Most of the Time - Until It Doesn't

Tesla’s Full Self-Driving system (FSD) is impressive, but it’s not actually capable of driving a vehicle by itself. Rated at Level 2 on the SAE automation scale, FSD requires an attentive driver ready to take control at any time. Even so, independent research firm AMCI Testing’s recent study showed that the system functions almost flawlessly in most scenarios, boosting drivers’ confidence, but that sense of security can cause significant problems when things do go awry.

AMCI tested a 2024 Tesla Model 3 Performance running the newest hardware and software over 1,000 miles of city streets, interstates, mountain roads, and rural two-lane roads. FSD performed well, but the organization’s drivers had to intervene more than 75 times while using the system. That’s an average of one intervention every 13 miles, and some of FSD’s missteps sound pretty dangerous.

One tester reported that the vehicle crossed the double yellow lines on a twisty mountain road, while another said the Model 3 stopped at a green light during city testing. AMCI’s director of testing, Guy Mangiamele, said, “What’s most disconcerting and unpredictable is that you may watch FSD successfully navigate a specific scenario many times – often on the same stretch of road or intersection – only to have it inexplicably fail the next time.

That relatively low rate of driver interventions may build a false sense of trust and confidence that FSD is capable of self-correcting in confusing situations, leading to more crashes. The CEO of AMCI’s parent company, David Stokols, noted that “with all hands-free augmented driving systems, and even more so with driverless autonomous vehicles, there is a compact of trust between the technology and the public. Getting close to foolproof, yet falling short, creates an insidious and unsafe complacency issue as proven in the test results.”

[Images: Brian Gallegos, mpohodzhay, Jose Gil via Shutterstock]

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