Got my Model 3 in December. Paid for FSD and I don’t regret it (yet). I love the car, better than anything I’ve driven in recent memory. Like the center screen, like the driving dynamics. Even like watching Netflix while waiting at the supercharger.

I was motivated to post this because the design of the new Model S/X seems to clearly indicate they don’t actually think you’ll need the steering wheel most of the time. That seems really really premature.

The existing Autopilot is not great, and I’m even starting to avoid using it out of fear of unexpected behavior. The FSD videos show similar behavior, even more unrefined, and applied in even more scenarios. Projecting forward, it’s not getting better at a rate that will reach Level 5 anytime soon. At least 5 to 10 years I’d guess. “FSD” might get us to Level 3 if we’re really lucky.

Problems:

• Phantom braking. So much of it. I drive mainly at night these days, and it now happens about once, sometimes twice every 20-40 minute drive. In the same very general section of highway, but not related to specific cars, bridges, or trucks as far as I can see. Could be any of those, or none, in some cases. Slamming on the brakes at 120 km/h in traffic is not great.
• Had it disengage mid off-ramp a few times and I had to grab the wheel to keep from slamming into a concrete barrier.
• It seems to deliberately and sometimes dramatically slow while overtaking cars in parallel lanes, causing the people behind me to slam on their brakes.
• Fast moving, but dense traffic seems to be the worst. It’s not aggressive enough and confuses the people around me. Then will suddenly disengage or change speed, making the situation worse.
• Any time a lane closes or opens on a boulevard, it can’t figure out where to go and swerves before disengaging.
• In moderate snow, without the Autopilot even engaged, the sensors go crazy, detecting every lump of snow on the road as an obstacle and sounding alarms constantly at speeds under 20km/h.
• Fully automated lane change is dangerous, usually wrong, erratic, and pointless.
• Not moving at the speed of traffic. Holding at 70km/h on long on-ramps for way too long, then attempting to get to 120km/h right at the end of the onramp.

If you watch FSD videos, some of this is improved, but a lot of it is not. It’s mostly just the same kind of unreliable behavior in a wider array of situations.

The point of all of this is that it is not getting better very fast. And is bad enough now that I only really feel comfortable using it where I would have used cruise control in the past. Open highways, in a nearly straight line, with little traffic, and good weather. It’s basically $10k cruise control. And when you add the nags, less automated than cruise control in some ways.

Source: https://www.reddit.com/r/teslamotors/comments/l8q4vj/as_an_owner_i_dont_see_how_any_owner_can_think/