Tesla owner James Locke is among the many ‘chosen ones’ currently participating in the open beta of Tesla’s Full Self-Driving software, and he has been sharing test drive videos with us via his YouTube channel.
With the second version of the beta out yesterday, Tesla software update 2020.40.8.11, James has run test drives on two different loops in the Santa Clarita, California area to showcase Tesla’s pricey add-on for Autopilot software.
To better record and analyze how Tesla’s proprietary ‘Full Self-Driving’ (FSD) mode is evolving with every update, beta testers have come up with the ingenious idea to drive the same loop with every new iteration of the FSD beta, and see how the vehicle’s behavior changes over time.
One of James’ test loops ran from David March Park, through Haskell Canyon Road, Bouquet Canyon Road, and Plum Canyon Road before ending up back at David March Park. The other loop ran from David March Park to Saugus High School and back again.
Both loops incorporated a variety of “tests” for the vehicle, including complex turns, 4-way intersections, pedestrian crossings, and speed bumps.
While FSD performed well overall, the few issues seen were the software leaving unnecessary space for cars parked against the curb (even when there weren’t any!), being a tad too slow with turns and needing some “encouragement” from the driver, and not braking enough for speed bumps.
In addition, James chose to err on the side of caution and take over control at a green-lit pedestrian crossing with people on the road instead of seeing how the vehicle reacted to the situation, which, all things considered, was probably for the best.
With the Full Self-Driving beta quickly rolling out to the masses, all eyes are on Tesla and how its autopilot software fares. Beta testers like James will be instrumental in fine-tuning FSD and getting the kinks out to make it a success.
