In a recently published YouTube video, CGP Grey put a Tesla Model 3 Long Range with the Full Self-Driving (FSD) beta to the test on the ‘Tail of the Dragon’ — one of the twistiest, deadliest roads in the U.S.
The Tail of the Dragon is 11 miles (17.7 km) of road that stretches through the Great Smoky Mountains on the Tennessee/North Carolina state line. The road is home to some incredibly sharp turns on a relatively thin roadway that runs along the side of a mountain.
The infamous driveway has become a challenge that beckons thrill-seekers and road aficionados alike, and many who have tried conquering it have perished in accidents. A bit of wreckage is salvaged from every crash on the Tail of the Dragon and is added to the ‘Tree of Shame’ located near the starting point.
Tesla tipster @greentheonly took a crack at it on an older version of FSD but had to disengage Autopilot and take over just minutes into the drive. He warned other FSD beta testers against trying it.
CGP Grey’s goal? To see if FSD could traverse the Tail of the Dragon entirely on its own.
The results? Nothing short of impressive. The Model 3 made its way across the Tail of the Dragon and back, with FSD engaged the whole way and zero manual disengagements. While FSD did get a little uncomfortably close to the double yellow road lines on some left turns, it never actually crossed them.
“It’s still a very beta beta,” said the YouTuber in conclusion, but it “made it up and down ‘The Dragon’ with zero human intervention.”
Despite mounting scrutiny from the government and regulators, the FSD beta program is running full force and Autopilot is being improved continuously. The latest publicly available version of the FSD beta is 10.6.1, which started rolling out last week.
