Tesla’s Full Self-Driving (FSD) beta software has now been out in a limited release for a little over month, and already seen five updates deployed over that time.
The latest update released earlier this week, 2020.44.15.3 and dubbed FSD beta 5, was said to have significant improvements to its self-driving capabilities.
On the first day of its release, several beta testers commented how much more confident the car felt with FSD engaged, and that it required far fewer interventions than before.
#FSDBeta v5 initial impressions after first drive: much more confident and assertive, fewer interventions. Only took one spin through town and it did about the same on my tight streets – but overall much better for me. Will go through video now. #fsd #tesla #model3
— Kim Paquette 💫🦄 (@kimpaquette) November 25, 2020
So far I’ve noticed a couple items during a 20-30 minute time frame. No UI changes I’ve noticed. The biggest things so far… 1) Not one intervention 2) Yellow lights is no longer braking if I’m close 3) Stop lines are handled correctly. I’m recording full footage now! #fsdbeta
— Brandonee916 (@brandonee916) November 25, 2020
Canadian beta tester and Tesla Club LA board member James Locke showed off the capabilities of the latest update in a nearly 10-minute uninterrupted drive to a local Starbucks in Santa Clarita, California.
While most of the drive is pretty ordinary (by FSD beta standards), the last few minutes show how far the software has come in just one month. The final series of turns involves navigating a two-lane left turn lane, making the left turn into a multi-lane stretch of road, then having to immediately cross three lanes of traffic to make a right turn into the Starbucks parking lot.
If that sounds complicated, it is, but the Tesla was able to handle it with ease, even driving into the parking lot and up to the Starbucks.
Watching the whole video, along with that final sequence of turns, gives you a really good sense of how well the car can drive by itself, and how far ahead of the competition Tesla is when it comes to self-driving software. While there are definitely still many improvements to make, autonomous driving is a lot closer than most people realize.
Check it out below, and let us know what you think in the comments below.
