Tesla CEO Elon Musk says anyone questioning the potential value of robotaxis for the company should personally experience the latest self-driving vehicle. A Wall Street analyst followed through on this challenge and reported a near-crash incident during the test drive.
William Stein, a Truist Securities analyst, is not alone in experiencing difficulties with Tesla's Full Self-Driving (FSD) feature. Other individuals have also reported issues with the system like Tesla driver, Craig Doty II, who attributed a near-train collision earlier this year to the FSD's malfunction.
In his case, Stein encountered difficulties when recently testing a special "demo mode" exclusively accessible to Tesla employees during demonstration drives, as detailed in a note. He reported numerous illegal manoeuvres executed by the vehicle while in FSD mode, such as lane changes on a highway segment marked with solid white lines, which prohibits such actions.
"The Model Y accelerated through an intersection as the car in front of us had only partly completed a right turn," he noted. "My quick intervention was absolutely required to avoid an otherwise certain accident."
"Another intervention was required when a police officer used hand motions to signal to us to pull to the side of the road to allow a funeral procession to pass." Stein concluded that the system's performance "is no better, arguably worse, than the last time" he evaluated it in April.
FSD In Focus
Not all aspects of the evaluation were negative. Stein's report acknowledged some improvements in FSD compared to his previous test drive. "What really impressed us was how well the car adapted to challenging disruptions like lane closures, heavy potholes, and traffic flows that would confuse even experienced human drivers," he wrote.
"The newer FSD version was more active in switching lanes, and we figured out how to set the top speed above 55 (a challenge we highlighted in our last report). The driving felt more natural overall than the prior test drive," Stein added.
Stein's observations cast doubt on the proximity of autonomous driving and robotaxis, technologies Musk is staking Tesla's future on. Tesla's FSD driver-assistance feature is an optional $8,000 add-on capable of navigating both city streets and highways, although constant human supervision remains mandatory.
Musk contends that FSD surpasses human driving in safety, a claim supported by a 2020 study indicating a substantial reduction in road accidents when using Tesla's Autopilot system. Notably, Musk has staked Tesla's future on developing a fleet of driverless robotaxis.
"I would encourage anyone to understand the system better to simply try it out and let the car drive you around," he said on an investor's call earlier this month after reporting disappointing second-quarter financial results. "Once people use it, they tend to continue using it. So it's vastly compelling."
Regulatory Scrutiny Of FSD And Autopilot
Safety regulators have raised concerns about FSD and the less advanced "Autopilot" driver-assistance feature designed for highway use. In January, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration mandated a recall of all 363,000 US vehicles equipped with the feature.
The safety agency determined that the feature posed an unreasonable risk to motor vehicle safety due to insufficient compliance with traffic safety regulations. In December, NHTSA issued a recall encompassing nearly all 2 million Tesla vehicles following a two-year investigation into approximately 1,000 crashes involving Autopilot.
The agency concluded that the system's software might not adequately prevent driver misuse, potentially increasing crash risks. NHTSA has ordered a recall of 1.8 million Tesla vehicles this week due to a software glitch that failed to detect an unlatched hood, potentially allowing it to open while driving. Tesla will address the issue with an over-the-air software update.
