FSD Beta gets new Canadian challenge driving off ferry onto Vancouver Island, British Columbia [Update]

Even though Tesla’s Full Self-Driving (FSD) Beta software is still at least one month away from arriving Canada, the software does work when U.S. owners cross the border with it.

We saw some tests last month where a Model 3 equipped with the software successfully tackled some streets in Toronto, Ontario.

We also learned for the first time that Santa Mode works with FSD Beta.

Long time tester James Locke drove from California to Victoria, British Columbia this week. The final leg of the journey requires a one and a half hour ferry trip across the Salish Sea.

Thanks to James, FSD Beta v10.4 has taken on a brand new challenge in Canada – driving off a ferry.

There are a number of reasons why this test is unique.

The first is that driving off the ferry is not easy, even for a human, if you haven’t done it before. It is a mess of lane lines and traffic cones to make sure you drive in the right direction and not off the elevated ramp onto the road below (it has happened before).

Another reason is that while on the ferry from Vancouver to Victoria, the car loses its cellular connection. This results in the map and location of the car being “stuck” in Vancouver, often taking several minutes for it to reconnect and re-center itself in Victoria.

That means in this particular case, the car is relying solely on vision to drive.

Then there’s the unloading of the boat and directions from crews onboard the ferry.

As far as we are aware this is the first time the software has attempted driving off a ferry. As you can see in the video below, it handled it pretty well.

UPDATE: James has now uploaded the full video, from the ferry to the Victoria Superchargers. Check it out below.

 

 

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