Tesla officially admits: “Full Self-Driving is a misleading name”

In the US, more than 360,000 Teslas will receive a software update. This in consultation with the American RDW, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. In the frequently asked questions on the Tesla website, the manufacturer makes a remarkable statement about this.

When a system is called Full Self-Driving, you expect it to deliver what the name promises: complete autonomy. But so far, Tesla’s FSD has failed. The question is will it ever happen.

Officially, Full Self-Driving is not on the market

Officially, FSD is not yet on the market. Nevertheless, hundreds of thousands of Teslas with the beta version are driving around in the USA. In other words, Tesla is simply testing a potentially dangerous system on public roads. Luckily that’s not allowed in Europe.

Hundreds of YouTube videos with misses and near-misses show that Full Self-Driving Beta causes some problems. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is now questioning safety and calling for adjustments.

Continued issues with Full Self-Driving Beta

According to the organization’s website, “FSD Beta may behave unsafely at intersections, such as driving straight from a pre-sorting section, not stopping at a stop sign, and ignoring an orange light.”

Tesla has therefore launched a recall where all FSD Beta-equipped cars will receive an over-the-air update. An FAQ on the Tesla website explains this in more detail.

FSD Beta is nothing more than a level 2 system

And hop! Right at the second question, Tesla admits that Full Self-Driving is a totally inappropriate and misleading name. “FSD Beta is a level 2 driving assistant that can assist the driver in a number of situations with steering, braking and acceleration.”

To be clear, a car without driver assistance is level 0 and a fully self-driving car is level 5 (although they don’t exist yet). Most modern cars are at level 2.

This means that in certain situations they can take certain actions themselves, but always require the oversight of a director who must be able to intervene at any time.

Is the system secure? Not always, says Tesla

As Tesla puts it: “The driver is always responsible for controlling the vehicle. The operation of FSD Beta should always be checked. The driver must be able to intervene immediately if necessary.”

Is Full Self-Driving Beta safe? Not always, Tesla admits. “FSD Beta can conduct operations that violate local traffic rules, thereby increasing the risk of a collision.”