Co-founder of a robotaxi company gives honest review of Tesla’s self-driving mode
- Jesse Levinson spoke at the TechCrunch Disrupt conference this week
- He mentioned that he owns a Tesla and sometimes uses FSD
- However, he said the technology provides a ‘stressful’ experience
Published on Oct 31, 2024 at 1:58 PM (UTC+4)
by Adam Gray
Last updated on Oct 31, 2024 at 8:42 PM (UTC+4)
Edited by
Tom Wood
The cofounder of Zoox has said that Tesla’s self-driving mode sometimes makes him feel nervous.
To paint a clearer picture, Jesse Levinson is the cofounder and chief technical officer of the Amazon-backed robotaxi company.
While that gives him credibility, he’s also the owner of a Tesla, so he’s clearly a fan of the brand.
Levinson shared his thoughts on the technology earlier this week at the TechCrunch Disrupt conference in San Francisco.
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Tesla’s self-driving mode – what is it?
It’s a Tesla driver assistance feature that provides more advanced guidance and assisted driving than autopilot.
Full-self driving (FSD) includes features like traffic and stop sign control, auto lane changes, and self-parking.
Tesla owners are able to subscribe to FSD (supervised) from the Tesla app or their vehicle’s touchscreen if the vehicle has FSD computer 3.0 or above.
Tesla’s self-driving mode is currently only available in the US, with Elon Musk recently sharing the states where unsupervised FSD will be available next year.
To give you an idea of how it works, a man drove his Tesla Cybertruck on FSD for miles and this is what he found.
What did Levinson say?
There’s no doubt about it – FSD is a key piece of Tesla technology that will be critical for the company’s fully autonomous vehicle and robotaxi visions.
But, according to Levinson, FSD often makes the right decisions until it doesn’t, making for a stressful driving experience.
“I do find it a bit stressful because, again, usually it does the right thing and then it sort of lulls you into this false sense of complacency and then it does the wrong thing,” Levinson said.
What’s next for FSD?
While Musk has an ambitious timeline to roll out unsupervised self-driving, his company is facing regulatory scrutiny for its technology.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is investigating the technology following reports of four accidents, including one fatal incident.
In that particular incident a pedestrian was struck by a Tesla that had FSD engaged, the agency is stated as saying.
According to Tesla’s website, though, FSD systems require ‘active driver supervision and do not make the vehicle autonomous.’
Adam Gray is an experienced freelance motoring journalist and content creator based in the United Kingdom. Using his media accreditation with manufacturers’ press offices, Adam test drives the latest cars and attends new vehicle press launches, producing written reviews and news pieces for a variety of lifestyle and business publications. Here at Supercar Blondie, Adam applies his journalistic skills penning social-first content around current news and trends. When he’s not behind the wheel of the latest car or writing up another viral story, Adam can be found at his local rink playing ice hockey or at the Riverside Stadium supporting his beloved Middlesbrough FC.
