Tesla officially released the Advanced Driver Assistance System Fully Autonomous Driving Function Package (FSD) this month, but its function is not exactly as its name implies, and the actual performance does not match the price.
Perhaps the most optimistic technology in the entire automotive industry is Tesla FSD. In fact, none of the cars currently on the market can drive fully autonomously. Tesla FSD is actually an L2 driver assistance system defined by SAE International.
The L2 driver assistance system requires two or more driver assistance technologies to work at the same time. The key is to provide assistance to the driver and cannot be a substitute for the driver’s attention or maneuvering the vehicle. As far as Tesla FSD and General Motors SuperCruise systems are concerned, these include:
- Control vehicle speed through automatic braking and acceleration.
- Target detection and distance maintenance. Achieve following the car or avoid pedestrians.
- Lane change assistance. When the driver turns on the turn signal and the surrounding environment allows the vehicle to change lanes safely, the car will automatically change lanes. General Motors has just announced that the new SuperCruise system can automatically change lanes without the driver turning on the turn signal.
Even when all these technologies are enabled, the L2 driver assistance system requires the driver to always fully control the car and supervise the system operation at all times. In essence, the L2 driver assistance system only reduces the physical work of the driver, and the mental work of driving the vehicle has not been reduced.
Tesla’s FSD’s promise is inconsistent with its function, and the implication of the name may be potentially dangerous. Although many autonomous driving technologies have had accidents and even fatal accidents, Tesla technology has received more attention. Tesla’s absurd practice of naming its own Autopilot system Full Autopilot damages the overall development of autonomous driving technology.
If the huge benefits of this technology are to continue to expand, regulators, insurance companies and car buyers need to have confidence in this technology, and FSD’s approach will not allow the industry to achieve this goal. The Tesla FSD price is now cheaper than the previous test version, but it sounds more complicated. In the past, users could spend $10,000 to unlock features, and Tesla said that every electric car will have a built-in FSD.
However, Tesla recently announced that users will pay a $1,500 hardware upgrade fee based on the model and configuration, and then pay a monthly subscription fee of $199 to unlock the FSD. However, in this case, you may need to pay $1500 for hardware upgrades, depending on your car model and the matrix of the original configuration.
According to SAE, the L5 level is the only driver assistance system that truly meets the standards of fully automated driving. Cars equipped with L5-level systems do not even need pedals or steering wheels. However, no car manufacturer has yet to provide an L5 level system, and there are more and more debates about whether ordinary consumers can see this technology in their private cars.
Tesla stated in January 2021 that the company may begin to launch L5 driver assistance systems on some electric vehicles before the end of this year. Tesla also recently admitted to regulators that it could not fulfill its promise by the end of this year. It is as impossible for Tesla to achieve L5 level driving just as smartphones can connect to 5G in 2019.
In short, the Tesla FSD system is only an L2 driver assistance system, and it is no different from the driver assistance systems provided by other automakers. Users can buy Tesla FSD for US$10,000 or US$199 per month, but if you choose the latter method, you may need to spend another US$1,500 to upgrade the car’s hardware.
