Tesla owner AI DRIVR – who has been testing Full Self-Driving (FSD) for years – is at it again with another telling video. This time, he puts a Tesla Model S through an FSD torture test of sorts, skipping over the easiest obstacles and attempting those that the technology struggled to avoid in his previous tests.
We know advanced driver-assist systems are designed to save lives, and we also know they do save lives. Otherwise, organizations like the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) wouldn’t push automakers to equip cars with features, such as forward collision avoidance. However, there’s always a chance an active safety system could fail to work as it’s supposed to, which could lead to injuries.
With that said, a big question related to such advanced safety technologies is whether they may “save” more often than they create the potential for harm. Sadly, we’re not likely to hear about or even prove all of the “saves,” though we’re almost certain to hear about the fails.
For this reason, YouTube influencers like AI DRIVR put together regular videos to try to learn and share more about what such systems are capable (and incapable) of. As you’ll see in the video, he puts the Tesla Model S through a series of rather scary tests, which could potentially result in successes, near misses, or even accidents.
Perhaps the best part is that much of the obstacle avoidance footage is shot with Insta360. This gives it a unique perspective, sort of as if there’s a drone flying closely over the Tesla.
Right off the bat, the Tesla slams into a narrow box on the roadway, suggesting the system has a blind spot, which we’ve heard much chatter about in forums and on social media. It seems version 11 didn’t fix the issue. However, the technology avoids the box on the next two attempts and even tries to avoid it multiple times when the box is made into a moving target.
The test moves on to a car wheel and tire, both stationary and moving. The avoidance system appears to work quite well, even when the tire is laying flat on the road or rolling relatively quickly.
The largest obstacle used in the testing is a gas-powered pickup truck. Yes, AI DRIVR and his wife are taking some pretty big risks here in the name of safety testing. One test features the truck driving toward the Model S so that the Tesla’s FSD systems will have to steer a tight path around the truck while staying on the roadway.
Another test shows the truck turning in front of the Model S while it’s in motion. And finally, a head-on test with both cars moving. It’s probably a good time to leave you hanging and let you watch how it all plays out.
What do you think? Is Tesla’s FSD beta technology equipped to save more than it has the potential to harm? Leave us your takeaways in the comment section below.
