Business Insider tested Tesla's latest version of Full Self-Driving (Supervised).The system appeared highly confident and could navigate complex road situations.The need for constant human supervision holds back FSD's full potential.Two things can be true of Tesla's Full Self-Driving: It's an impressive piece of technology, and it still doesn't go far enough.FSD is Tesla's big bet. CEO Elon Musk and his most bullish investors believe that autonomy will help take Tesla's valuation to new heights.Today, FSD (Supervised), as the name suggests, is an advanced driver assistance system (ADAS) that requires constant human supervision. The promise is to advance FSD enough to make the system unsupervised — meaning the driver behind the wheel can take their eyes off the road or even fall asleep. Tesla gave a glimpse of this future on Thursday, launching Robotaxi rides in Austin without a safety monitor in the vehicle.The gap between what the tech can do and what it can't is where my experience landed.With my friend riding shotgun, I drove around the East Bay Area, taking the Model 3 through various road environments, including a university campus, parking lots, and the highway, on a clear Saturday afternoon.FSD proved to be a highly capable driver — so much so that it has spoiled me into wishing that I didn't have to constantly babysit the system.I drove the Model 3 for a few hours around Berkeley and Alameda. The drive was a little less than 100 miles through a wide range of driving conditions — highly dense urban streets, university roads, canyons, and the highway.There were a few highlightsOne was when FSD was cautious around pedestrians on Berkeley's campus. I recall a student who wasn't using the crosswalk but was close to it, walking across the road. FSD came to a rolling stop rather than an abrupt halt, which is exactly how I would've handled the situation.The system also managed to navigate the university's roads and perform a three-point turn when I stopped the car and added a new destination.FSD's "Mad Max" mode is impressive in the way it lane-changed around a few cars that were moving too slowly on the highway for my taste. Calling it "Mad Max" feels a little gratuitous, but I appreciate that a more urgent driving mode is available.At no point did I need to disengage FSD or question the system enough to take over the steering wheel. Tesla FSD is a smooth and cautious driver.My friend, who doesn't actively follow tech news or everything Musk says as much as I do, described the experience like being in a "spaceship." That wasn't necessarily a compliment from his end — he likes older cars — but it's exactly how Musk intended the Tesla experience to be.Full autonomy or bustI gained enough trust in FSD that I wanted to test the system's limits by closing my eyes while driving down University Avenue — a fairly busy thoroughfare in Berkeley.The car kept driving for a bit, but I was inevitably warned to pay attention to the road.As good as FSD is, the technology doesn't allow you to completely disengage mentally. It was like having an itch that's just not quite fully satisfied. The technology is — or at least feels — so, so close.People who swear by FSD like to say that the system is a game changer, lifting the burden of driving off their shoulders.I agree that driving can be a tedious chore. I immediately think about the drive between San Francisco and Los Angeles that I do a few times a year. It's about 400 miles and can easily be a 7-hour drive depending on traffic.The problem isn't that it's hard in a problem-solving sense. The drive is mostly a straight shot. The problem is that I have to stay awake. I can listen to music, put on an entertaining podcast, or get 200 mg of caffeine from a can of Celsius, but the drive is so monotonous that I could easily doze off while on the 5 highway.I obviously can't do that yet with Tesla FSD, which makes me wonder: How significant is the difference, really, between the cognitive effort it takes to manually drive from SF to LA than having to supervise an ADAS?FSD feels like the burden of driving was just shifted away from my hands and feet to my attention.Musk said an FSD (Supervised) is now capable enough for drivers to take their eyes off the road in certain conditions without triggering the warning system.That would be useful only if Tesla were to take full responsibility when I get pulled over by the police.A Tesla spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment.The bar is to be a passengerI'm likely spoiled because I know what full autonomy feels like.I have constant access to Waymo. I've filed an entire story inside a robotaxi and used it several times to take me home after a night of drinking.That's the bar I want Tesla FSD to reach and exceed: a system capable enough to let me sleep behind the wheel on any road, meaning no geofences, and one in which Tesla will take accountability for any issues that arise while FSD is unsupervised.I'm also thinking about folks like David Moss, who said he broke a record for driving more than 11,000 miles on FSD without touching the steering wheel. Moss told me how FSD could be a life-changer for his father, who is legally blind and unable to drive. If Tesla's ADAS can reliably — and legally — put people like Moss' dad behind the wheel, I can see Full Self-Driving going from a nice-to-have to a need-to-have.Tesla's decision to remove the safety monitor from some of its robotaxis suggests the company could be close.For now, it's a tease.
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