Right this moment, I had the possibility to expertise Tesla’s Full Self Driving (Supervised) software program, following the official launch final evening. Having watched the event over greater than 4 years, it feels nearly surreal that it’s lastly right here.
Having pushed greater than 350kms right this moment, most on FSD, it’s seemingly I’ve clocked up essentially the most of anybody in Australia up to now. This time behind the wheel places me in an ideal place to share my ideas after having expertise FSD (Supervised) throughout a spread of environments prior to now 24 hours.
Check Plan
A part of testing Tesla’s FSD (Supervised) software program is knowing what it’s able to, but additionally observing its present limitations. Let’s begin with my expectations. Having monitored the progress of just about each launch of FSD, my expectations have been fairly excessive, significantly given the years of growth and progress within the software program.
Naturally Australia presents some distinctive challenges, so let’s dive into the way it performs after having pushed FSD (Supervised) right this moment.
My analysis started with an evaluation of basic manoeuvres, together with the automotive’s means to navigate metropolis streets, turning corners, mechanically indicating alongside the route, whereas paying shut consideration to the way it handles turning the trajectory, surrounding obstacles and acceleration, deceleration which pertains to driver/passenger consolation.
My testing additionally centered on how the system managed extra advanced and dynamic driving conditions. I appeared into the automotive’s behaviour on highways, confirming if the Indicator onto freeway problem had been mounted and the way the system dealt with lane merging.
I additionally was additionally looking out for any updates or adjustments to the Navigate on Autopilot characteristic and examined the automotive’s willingness to overhaul over stable strains or just transfer throughout a stable line to go a double-parked or disabled automobile.
The behaviour of a digital driver can be one thing that pursuits me, and what stage of management the motive force / passengers recover from it’s aggressiveness in overtakes, or lane adjustments, how quickly it accelerates from a cease, or common geforce maximums which influence rider consolation and general impression of the journey. Sadly this was one I used to be unable to check.
Lastly, my preliminary impressions assess FSD’s means to deal with difficult highway situations and infrastructure. This spans the complete gamut of setting varieties, from the center of Melbourne, to the lengthy drive down the Hume Hwy and to Regional and Rural places.
As I pushed previous the fundamentals, my consideration turned to extra nuanced capabilities that aren’t options listed on the web site, reminiscent of potholes avoidance, maneuvering round and highway particles, capabilities an autonomous resolution actually must have if it’s to ever be utterly driverless in the future.
Many Tesla homeowners dwell exterior main cities and meaning encountering unmarked and unsealed roads, so naturally I examined these as nicely. Additionally on the roster was affirmation of how the system catered for pace bumps, significantly provided that it’s actually hit and miss with the AP stack.
The ultimate take a look at for right this moment was the system’s means to reply to adjustments in pace zones and thru this, I found one thing actually intriguing.
There’s tons extra to check over the following couple of days, however Albury’s 16-bay Supercharger location will present an ideal take a look at mattress to substantiate help for navigating a multi-story carpark.
Preliminary Impressions
New Performance
Metropolis streets (turning corners) / Auto indicator
I wished to expertise one of the best model of what Tesla has to supply, as such I enabled the ‘press button to start out’ choice and eliminated the checkbox that required your foot on the brake to start.
This implies beginning the primary drive was so simple as urgent the button on the house display and holding for a few seconds, with out hesitation, the automotive signifies proper and begins driving ahead, flip the wheel to maneuver away from the curb and into the lane of the service highway.
We’re off, the automotive is driving itself, after all it felt totally different to every other expertise I’d had within the driver’s seat because the automotive had at all times wanted my assist, however not anymore.
After a fast pause to permit visitors to go by, the automotive turned out of the service lane and onto the primary 3-lane arterial. The automotive instantly felt assured, there was no mucking round, it had a path to get to and made the required lane adjustments to comply with that route.
Whereas I wouldn’t describe the driving fashion as aggressive, it was uber assured.
Nook by nook the smile on my face grew, I used to be amazed that I used to be lastly experiencing this know-how, not from a video on-line from the opposite aspect of the planet, however from the motive force’s seat.
In pretty speedy succession I observed how the automotive was behaving, and accommodating for the setting round it. Certain, it was a Friday and there wasn’t peak hour visitors, however there was sufficient round to be difficult and I, as a supervising passenger (aka driver) felt secure to let the automotive do the work, taking nearly all of the driving job and cognitive load off my shoulders.
I sat there and shortly realised how little I used to be wanted. Certain, I used to be watching out the windscreen for oncoming dangers, however time and time once more, the automotive responded in a really related, if not the very same approach I might and importantly, on the identical cadence I might, making the drive really feel pure and human-like.
Having the automotive mechanically point out because the automotive turns alongside a route actually adjustments the driving expertise basically, along with mechanically turning the wheel to navigate metropolis streets.
This has by no means been accomplished for me by every other ADAS system. It’s bizarre, it’s totally different, it’s higher, so long as it really works each time.
Proper-left flip
In my 3-4 hours of driving right this moment, I had one problem with performing a flip. This was throughout a proper, left sequence of corners the place it’s crucial to maneuver quick and be in the appropriate place on the proper time.
Each lanes turned proper, however I wanted to alter lanes to the left, to then take the left flip. This was not achieved given a gentle stream of visitors beside me. In different conditions, you may gradual, and even cease and wait with the indicator and also you’ll sometimes get fortunate, somebody will allow you to in.
On this occasion, the system didn’t recover from in time, so confronted with the choice of turning left from the appropriate lane, or going straight and re-routing, it selected the first. This resulted in a honk, however in the end a transfer that was accomplished due to an accommodating and beneficiant third occasion. Not ultimate.
Roundabouts (multi-lane)
I encounter quite a lot of roundabouts and day by day. For a lot of, having an answer that may navigate roundabouts is the distinction between whether or not it could drive you from house to work or not, so it lands firmly within the obligatory column of options of an autonomous system.
I had an opportunity right this moment to drive via a number of spherical abouts, small, giant, single, multi-lane and each time FSDs bought it proper. There have been instances it went slower than I might, as much as 20km/hr slower, nevertheless it labored and that’s an important side, the pace can come later with additional software program updates.
I discovered fairly shortly that giving the automotive some affirmation with the appropriate foot helps affirm its intentions and helps it carry out the duty sooner. I anticipate this enter is handled as error and the following information is examined by Tesla engineers.
FSD modes (Mad Max left the constructing)
The FSD drive modes accessible internationally are usually not current in our present construct, it’s to not say they gained’t arrive sooner or later, however for now, FSDs has 1 persona.
It’s unlikely {that a} one dimension suits all method will work, with such quite a lot of clients, Tesla’s FSDs might want to cater for previous, younger, completely happy, unhappy, drained, burdened and every thing in between. That is the place FSD Modes might help tailor the automobiles actions (price of pace x/y) to your preferences like your playlist.
Overtake over stable strains (i.e. double-parked automotive)
When traversing suburban streets, I got here as much as a state of affairs the place a automotive parked on the aspect of the road meant there wasn’t sufficient accessible room to go by with out crossing the stable painted middle line.
In Autopilot, this might be a tough no, however with FSDs, it was an absolute sure. This was a kind of moments the place the 2 software program options actually confirmed a significant distinction in functionality.
FSDs navigated throughout the white line and continued controlling the automotive, whereas AP would merely cease in place and wait on your take over, or to throw pink palms and make you’re taking over.
I positively bought excited by this, because it felt like a big step change.
Unmarked roads
On the way in which house, I referred to as by the sleepy little regional city of Chiltern, VIC. This provides a regional panorama, verging on rural and plenty of roads see sufficiently small visitors volumes that it doesn’t warrant sustaining line markings of any description.
Tesla’s FSDs dealt with this fantastically. To begin with, I used to be in a position to interact FSDs on a highway with out lane markings of any sort, one thing AP simply gained’t do. It then used the sides of the highway floor to outline the drivable area, then aligned the automotive to the left 50% of that area.
The automotive tracked to the left confidently, by no means nervous or looking like AP can. I handed a motorbike rider in the wrong way, all with out problem they usually wouldn’t have identified I wasn’t the one positioning the automotive.
Off-road
I can affirm I pushed the system to the bounds, a bit previous what’s on the brochure, by testing it off-road.
This was on a non-public property, confirms there isn’t any requirement to also have a sealed floor or highway of any description to interact FSD. The automotive was extremely cautious and travelled slowly, trying to find something that resembled driveable area.
Enhancements/Points mounted
Indicators
I can affirm that one of the annoying points, the inaccurate Indicator being enabled for a freeway lane merge, is resolved with FSDs. I entered and exited the freeway many instances, and the indicator was excellent (proper to go proper) each single time.
Pace bumps
Slowing down for pace bumps is one thing our automobiles have accomplished for some time now, nevertheless it’s unreliable. There’s a big number of angles, marking and signage round pace bumps and AP is basically hit or miss. Get this fallacious and you could possibly hit a bump at pace, uncomfortable at greatest, and probably harmful of damaging to the automobile or pedestrians at worse.
Fortunately pace bumps now seem like catered for persistently. Once more it’s in all probability over cautious proper, typically slowing greater than I might, however I seen no proof you’d ever go flying over one with FSDs.
Adjustments
Autopark
Now not only a user-initiated characteristic, the automotive will now try to park on the finish of a drive. If you happen to pull right into a car parking zone, the automotive could try to park in a parking bay, but when it’s a road tackle, it’ll pull up subsequent to the curb.
It is a nice characteristic, though I wish to see this prolonged to help pulling right into a driveway which is what lots of people would anticipate a mate to do when coming over to select you up or drop you off.
Collision avoidance
Whereas I actually needed to take over a number of instances right this moment to keep away from vital pot holes within the highway, I didn’t encounter any particles on the highway or wildlife to see how the system would react.
As I used to be leaving one among my stops, I did expertise the automotive slowing, full with the chevron indicator on display, in an effort to slowly transfer via a stream of water operating throughout the highway forward. I haven’t heard this referenced earlier than, so it might be new. Given Austrlaia’s propensity for pure disasters like flooding, it is going to be essential that the automotive by no means driver its occupants into deep water. Fortunately todays was only a small stream, simply satisfactory.
New problem
One of many causes I really like Autopilot is for its means to trace the pace restrict and guarantee I by no means have to fret about rushing. Within the menu, you sometimes have a selection of how the cruise management is ready, both by the pace zone detected (set cruise while you’re at 55 and it’ll take you as much as 60km/hr), or by present pace (set cruise at 55km/hrs and it’ll maintain at 55.
The primary is well my choice, which depends on Tesla’s means to detect a posted pace restrict, and alter the automobiles pace to that restrict.
Right this moment, I discovered the FSD (Supervised) pace to be actually unreliable, to the purpose of it being actually irritating to make use of over prolonged intervals. The Hume Freeway is 110km/hr, which makes it arduous to grasp why the automotive would constantly present the restrict recognized was 100km/hr.
I might see the automotive detecting 110 as we handed by the signal, however 10-15 seconds, the digital model of that signal had diminished to 100. This occurred time and time once more, ensuing within the automotive slowing, typically to 98 in a 110km/hr zone which isn’t solely inefficient, however probably harmful.
We’re used to overriding an occasional misinterpret, however you may’t do this with FSDs. You enhance the set restrict, however even with that set to 120km/hr, the automotive refused to speed up as much as the restrict. One thing is damaged right here and Tesla must resolve this to replicate the dependable pace settings we’ve got with AP right this moment.
It’s gadgets like this that basically solely get surfaced while you step exterior of metropolis driving and spend vital time behind the wheel, as I used to be in a position to right this moment.
If you happen to’re questioning why Tesla didn’t launch the software program to everybody, it’s as a result of points like this nonetheless exist. As a take a look at, I turned off FSD and went again to the AP choice and as anticipated, it behaved completely, confirming it wasn’t a automobile problem, however a FSDs change that’s required.
How do you get FSD (Supervised) in Australia?
Under is an inventory of what it is advisable get FSDs in Australia because it stands on the finish of August 2025.
- A Tesla automobile with HW4 (Mannequin 3/Mannequin Y after late 2023)
- The newest software program construct (2025.26.7.10) which incorporates FSD V13.2.9
- Bought FSD improve (at present A$10,100)
- Be a part of the Early Entry Program.
If the primary 3 weren’t a problem, the 4th actually shall be. A minimum of at this stage, EAP enrolment is just not one thing you may opt-into, Tesla will attain out and invite. That is sometimes being supplied to Aussies with a social media presence which have lined Tesla prior to now which helps to validate these customers know and perceive the know-how greater than common customers could be anticipated to.
Once you tick all of the containers, the ultimate step is to allow FSD in your automotive. Once you do that, you’ll get very prolonged disclaimers that make it extremely clear, you’re nonetheless accountable / accountable for the automobile, no matter how superior the software program is.
Total
To wrap my ideas after driving it for the primary day, is that FSD (Supervised) is a surprising piece of know-how. Given what I skilled right this moment, there needs to be little doubt about Tesla’s know-how structure to resolve autonomous driving – the system works!
It’s not excellent and I didn’t anticipate it to be, in any other case we wouldn’t be supervising, the query is how lengthy will it’s earlier than we see the following software program replace in Australia, are we going to remain in sync with the US software program updates now?
In the end that is the entree’ to the primary meal which is FSD (unsupervised), however given the regulatory approval required and the slow-moving NTC and state authorities, I don’t anticipate this to reach till late 2026 on the earliest.
If you happen to get an opportunity to expertise this know-how, ensure you leap at it with each arms open and a corresponding mindset.
Lastly I’m extremely glad that Tesla cares a few nation like Australia, sufficient to speculate the event effort required to help our uniqueness and it’s nice to see we have been used because the take a look at mattress for RHD markets. Australia has a historical past of early adoption and Tesla is basically the one firm within the autonomous automobile area, that’s offering a service of any description into Australia.
I’ll be doing extra testing this week, please depart a remark and let me know what you wish to take a look at.
I’ll be sharing numerous video from right this moment quickly, ensure you are following techAU.
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