I use FSD in my Model S daily to commute from SF to Palo Alto along with most of my other Bay Area driving. It does a better job currently than most people and it drives me 95% of the time now I haven't had the phantom braking.

I'm in a 2025 with HW4, but it's dramatic improvement over the last couple of years (previously had a 2018 Model 3) increased my confidence that Elon was right to focus on vision. It wasn't until late last year where I found myself using it more than not, now I use it almost every drive point to point (Cupertino to SF) and it does it.

I think people are generally sleeping on how good it is and the politicization means people are under valuing it for stupid reasons. I wouldn't consider a non Tesla because of this (unless it was a stick shift sports car, but that's for different reasons).

Their lead is so crazy far ahead it's weird to see this reality and then see the comments on hn that are so wrong. Though I guess it's been that way for years.

The position against lidar was that it traps you in a local max, that humans use vision, that roads and signs are designed for vision so you're going to have to solve that problem and when you do lidar becomes a redundant waste. The investment in lidar wastes time from training vision and may make it harder to do so. That's still the case. I love Waymo, but it's doomed to be localized to populated areas with high-res mapping - that's a great business, but it doesn't solve the general problem.

If Tesla keeps jumping on the vision lever and solves it they'll win it all. There's nothing in physics that makes that impossible so I think they'll pull it off.

I'd really encourage people to here with a bias to dismiss to ignore the comments and just go in real life to try it out for yourself.

This is extremely narrow minded. As another commenter pointed out, you are driving on easy mode in terms of environment and where a majority of the training was done.

This is not a general solution, it is an SF one... at best.

Most humans also don't get in accidents or have problems with phantom breaking within the timeframe that you mentioned.

You're basically driving on easy mode, in the Bay Area. Dry climate, sunshine all year round, pretty solid developed country infrastructure.

OK so you believe "Elon was right" and people should "ignore the comments" Hmm very interesting.

> politicization

How is it politicization when TESLA THE COMPANY is saying Full Self Driving doesn't mean "Full" "Self" Driving?

If it is as good as you claim, why doesn't Tesla claim it's Full Self Driving?

>> it drives me 95% of the time now

But what is the point to use it everywhere if you still need to pay attention to the road, keep hands on the steering wheel?

HW4 is really a game changer. I was absolutely floored by HW4 FSD during a recent test drive. Tesla is accomplishing some truly groundbreaking technical achievements here. But you wouldn't know it through all the Elon Musk noise (pro and con). I'd encourage anyone to take a test drive and put FSD through its paces. I went in with a super critical mindset and walked away stunned.

What lead? They are way behind Waymo.

Why would anyone listen to the opinion of someone who bought a Tesla in 2025?

The only people still buying them are musk fanboys.

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