It’s official. Tesla’s self-driving beta testing is wackier than cuckoo crazy, and it seems the traditional electric cars are having the last laugh about it. The concept of “self-driving” cars is not new, and it’s something K.I.T.T. from Knight Rider made fantastic use of, at least in the fantasy world of TV. To have a machine drive you, on auto mode, has been a dream of many, and Elon Musk is infected with the same affliction as well.
The Tesla Autopilot, a precursor to the FSD (full-self driving) debuted in 2014 and it was in 2015 that it offered the semi-autonomous hands-free control for highway and freeway driving, as a single-software update on the Model S.
But the latest video of a Tesla driving amok on the streets of Oakland is turning the autonomous dream a bit sour, because not only does the car fumble, it actually violates traffic laws multiple times. Be afraid, as they say in the movies, be very afraid…
Here’s the hara-kiri that Tesla’s “full” but semi-autonomous feature committed, on the Model 3, it tried to drive...
A History Of Tesla’s Self-Driving Innovations
There’s a whole team of “Jedi Engineers” working on Tesla’s autopilot dreams because Elon Musk believes that the improvements needed can only come via software updates. That said since none of the Tesla cars built before September 2014 come fitted with autopilot hardware, these cannot be turned autonomous, so if you bought the Model S or the Roadster before this, it’s your loss.
Or gain, depending on how you look at it.
Autopilot Hardware 1.0 came out in September 2014 on all Model S and X being built at the time and lasted till October 2016. It told the car what to do via 12 sensors and one front-facing camera. The 2.0 version came after and went up to a total of eight cameras with lots of new computing components as well. In 2017, Tesla buyers got version 2.5 with a change in the radar. Finally, since March 2019, Tesla cars have run on the 3.0 version, with third-party units replaced by Tesla’s in-house units. Cars that run the 2.0 and 2.5 versions can be upgraded to 3.0 if the owners purchase the Full Self Driving package but since 1.0 lacks the eight cameras, it remains as is.
The 13-Minute “Helter Skelter” Video
While we hate to use a Manson reference here, but the video shows the Tesla self-driving features as chaotic than intelligent. Posted on YouTube by “AI Addict”, it shows a Model 3, equipped with the FSD Beta 8.2 acting more like a confused non-driver than something that boasts artificial intelligence.
When the video starts, the front-seat passenger is rather impressed with the car’s decision to pass a line of double-parked vehicles instead of waiting behind them. While the passenger is talking, the car parks itself on the centerline, all because it’s trying to get into the left-hand lane. Not the kind of driving you’d do, unless you were drunk or had lost half of your brain cells.
Many commenters wondered why Tesla is letting the drivers face erratic and dangerous driving by unleashing the Beta version. Some even said it's like Tesla is using real-life people instead of crash-test dummies. The driver does warn that the FSD is in beta testing, and he does keep his hand on the steering at all times, taking over from the car whenever things start getting out of hand.
You can watch the “hair-raising” video here...
A Ticket? Blame The Tesla
In the video, it’s not just that Tesla is confused, the FSD makes mistakes that are more traffic violations than not, and also lands the car in potentially dangerous situations that require immediate driver intervention to keep safe.
In the video, the car makes a last-minute dash to cross a hard line for an illegal lane change. It then tries to make a left turn alongside another car, but then gives up midway at the intersection and disengages, leaving the driver to use his skills.
A turn is made too widely, nearly landing the car in the oncoming lane. It crosses into the oncoming lane again, heading towards bikes and traffics. Intersections leave it stumbling and veering. Even worse, it makes an unprotected left turn after a stop sign and then slows, requiring other cars to hit the brakes to avoid a fender bender.
It tries to make a right turn at a prohibited red light, almost hits curbs while making a left, and even drives into the oncoming lane before disengaging suddenly. At another intersection, cars have to avoid T-boning it, and basically, it has to be stopped from driving into other cars and stationary objects by the driver. As Ralph Nader said once, it is unsafe, at any speed, at least as per the video.
Will the self-driving dream turn into a bubble that will eventually burst, or take years to perfect remains to be seen? It's best used with a grain of salt and tons of reactive common sense, lest it harms the very owner it is trying to keep safe.
Sources: WIRED, YouTube, Jalopnik