A comment about Tesla's FSD software called it a simple party trick. This, however, couldn't be further from the truth, and we are seeing the reality of driverless Tesla vehicles unfold in real time.
FSD - A Simple Party Trick?
On a Tesla Model 3 forum, a popular comment has this to say about Tesla's FSD:
We recently bought a model Y and have 3 months FSD for free and it’s nice but I don’t use it that often because it does crazy stuff and scares me sometimes. It seems more like a party trick than being useful in daily driving. I would value it somewhere around premium connectivity. Maybe $10-$20/month.
Further comments went on to say that calling it a party trick was a good way to describe it, and that even $100/month seems expensive for a party trick.
These comments, from a few months ago, couldn't be further from the truth.
Summary and Key Points:
- Is Tesla's FSD just a party trick?
- Is Tesla's FSD worth $199 a month?
- When will Tesla vehicles become driverless?
Is Tesla's FSD just a party trick?
The comments left on the Reddit form came at the absolute worst time. They came right before FSD version 12.3, which is proving to be revolutionary and showing that Tesla vehicles now stand a chance at being driverless.
There are countless videos of no intervention and no disengagement drives in complicated scenarios with construction, unprotected left-hand turns, and more.
That's not a simple party trick to me. That's an AI system that has learned to drive from human data and is putting it all together to make an eventual autonomous vehicle.
In fact, Tesla has removed FSD Beta from the free trial name and description, calling it Full Self Driving (Supervised).
So, the answer is no, FSD is indeed not a party trick, but a legit piece of software that will drive your Tesla for you - but, you must still pay attention and be ready to take over in case it does something wrong - which won't be very often.
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Is Tesla's FSD worth $199 a month?
For a car that turns into your chauffeur and drives better than most humans right now, $199 a month is a steal.
In addition to that, you can buy Tesla's FSD software outright for $12,000. Many people might opt for the monthly payment because it's so much less, however.
At the point you can let your Tesla drive itself around without anyone and get paid for it, I don't think anyone is going to have a problem paying $199 a month or even $12,000 upfront.
In fact, I see these costs increasing at the point this becomes a reality.
When will Tesla vehicles become driverless?
I'd give it another couple years before Tesla vehicles can drive around without anyone in them - in the U.S. Rollouts in the rest of the world will take time and training data for that particular area.
But, the U.S., should start seeing driverless Tesla's no later than 2026. And, at the rate of progress I'm seeing now, I wouldn't be surprised to see it in 2025.
Progress with AI seems to be happening faster than anyone anticipated, and we are just about in April 2024. Time is flying and driverless Tesla vehicles will be here before you know it.
For Further Reading: MKBHD Shares His Cybertruck Review After 2,000 Miles - And Heavy Usage
What do you think about Tesla's FSD software - is it a simple party trick and worth only $10 a month?
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Hi! I'm Jeremy Noel Johnson, and I am a Tesla investor and supporter and own a 2022 Model 3 RWD EV and I don't have range anxiety :). I enjoy bringing you breaking Tesla news as well as anything about Tesla or other EV companies I can find, like Aptera. Other interests of mine are AI, Tesla Energy and the Tesla Bot! You can follow me on X.COM or LinkedIn to stay in touch and follow my Tesla and EV news coverage.
Image Credit: Not a Tesla app
Article Reference: Tesla Model 3 forum on Reddit