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Tesla critic gets ‘converted’ after in-depth Model X P100D experience
There is something about the Tesla experience that cannot be replicated unless one gets behind the wheel of one of the company’s electric cars. Once experienced, Teslas tend to convert even the most dedicated fans of fossil-fuel powered vehicles. Detroit veteran and longtime Tesla critic John McElroy recently had that experience, after he was able to borrow a Tesla Model X P100D from a friend over the weekend.
John McElroy does not identify as a Tesla enthusiast. Far from it. Over the years, the auto veteran from Detroit has taken a rather critical stance regarding the electric car maker. Back in 2016, McElroy was among the industry experts who openly criticized Tesla for releasing its Autopilot driver-assist system as a beta feature. In his YouTube channel, Autoline TV, McElroy is also known to point out the flaws of Tesla and its vehicles. Earlier this year alone, McElroy and Sandy Munro pretty much took turns criticizing the build quality of an early-production Model 3.
After extensively experiencing the Model X firsthand, John McElroy is now singing a rather different tune, even admitting that he has “drank the Tesla Kool-Aid and became a believer.” The auto veteran wrote about his experience in a post at Wards Auto, where he outlined his insights as he drove the all-electric SUV for a weekend. McElroy admitted that prior to his weekend with the Model X, he has had limited time with Tesla’s electric cars. He had a brief drive in a Model S some years ago and drove around with Sandy Munro in a Model 3, but apart from that, McElroy has largely evaluated the company’s vehicles from afar.
McElroy noted that the Tesla Model X P100D he used was not a perfect vehicle by any means. It reportedly had buzzes, squeaks, rattles, and its fit and finish left much to be desired. That being said, McElroy noted that in areas that customers “love and care deeply about,” Tesla is around 10 years ahead of the auto industry. The auto veteran outlined the Model X’s convenience features as one of these, such as how the SUV recognizes its driver as it is approached, and how every setting in the vehicle is saved according to its driver’s preference. McElroy also lauded the Model X’s design elements such as its panoramic windshield, which he noted was unlike anything in the industry.
“It’s like watching a high-resolution version of the outside world roll by through a giant IMAX screen,” he wrote.
Being loaned a Model X P100D, it was a bit impossible for McElroy not to take notice of the electric car’s performance. The veteran took a particular liking to the vehicle’s details and little pop culture references as well, which gave the car personality. A free Supercharging session that involved a pleasant experience with Tesla owners rounded up McElroy’s Model X experience. Ultimately, McElroy noted that Tesla’s competitors, particularly those from Germany, would likely be able to match everything that Tesla has accomplished. But regardless of this, it would be difficult for competitors to capture the “fun, whimsical, and sassy attitude” that Tesla has created.
Personal experiences have “converted” other staunch Tesla critics in the past. Earlier this year, Jeremy Clarkson, who was involved in a lawsuit from Elon Musk over the original Roadster’s portrayal in an old episode of Top Gear, drove a Model X P100D in an episode of The Grand Tour. Just like McElroy, it was the vehicle’s performance and whimsical details that ultimately won Clarkson over (Clarkson was particularly fond of Summon and the Model X’s Celebration Mode Easter Egg). The host described the Model X as “serious and lighthearted, sensible and daft,” even going so far as to dub the vehicle as “fabulous.”
Tesla’s Head of AI, Ashok Elluswamy, says that something that was expected with version 14.3 of the company’s Full Self-Driving platform has already partially shipped with the current build of version 14.2.
Tesla and CEO Elon Musk have teased on several occasions that reasoning will be a big piece of future Full Self-Driving builds, helping bring forth the “sentient” narrative that the company has pushed for these more advanced FSD versions.
Back in October on the Q3 Earnings Call, Musk said:
“With reasoning, it’s literally going to think about which parking spot to pick. It’ll drop you off at the entrance of the store, then go find a parking spot. It’s going to spot empty spots much better than a human. It’s going to use reasoning to solve things.”
Musk said in the same month:
“By v14.3, your car will feel like it is sentient.”
Amazingly, Tesla Full Self-Driving v14.2.2.2, which is the most recent iteration released, is very close to this sentient feeling. However, there are more things that need to be improved, and logic appears to be in the future plans to help with decision-making in general, alongside other refinements and features.
On Thursday evening, Elluswamy revealed that some of the reasoning features have already been rolled out, confirming that it has been added to navigation route changes during construction, as well as with parking options.
He added that “more and more reasoning will ship in Q1.”
🚨 Tesla’s Ashok Elluswamy reveals Nav decisions when encountering construction and parking options contain “some elements of reasoning”
More uses of reasoning will be shipped later this quarter, a big tidbit of info as we wait v14.3 https://t.co/jty8llgsKM
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) January 9, 2026
Interestingly, parking improvements were hinted at being added in the initial rollout of v14.2 several months ago. These had not rolled out to vehicles quite yet, as they were listed under the future improvements portion of the release notes, but it appears things have already started to make their way to cars in a limited fashion.
Tesla Full Self-Driving v14.2 – Full Review, the Good and the Bad
As reasoning is more involved in more of the Full Self-Driving suite, it is likely we will see cars make better decisions in terms of routing and navigation, which is a big complaint of many owners (including me).
Additionally, the operation as a whole should be smoother and more comfortable to owners, which is hard to believe considering how good it is already. Nevertheless, there are absolutely improvements that need to be made before Tesla can introduce completely unsupervised FSD.
Elon Musk
Tesla’s Elon Musk: 10 billion miles needed for safe Unsupervised FSD
As per the CEO, roughly 10 billion miles of training data are required due to reality’s “super long tail of complexity.”
Tesla CEO Elon Musk has provided an updated estimate for the training data needed to achieve truly safe unsupervised Full Self-Driving (FSD).
As per the CEO, roughly 10 billion miles of training data are required due to reality’s “super long tail of complexity.”
10 billion miles of training data
Musk comment came as a reply to Apple and Rivian alum Paul Beisel, who posted an analysis on X about the gap between tech demonstrations and real-world products. In his post, Beisel highlighted Tesla’s data-driven lead in autonomy, and he also argued that it would not be easy for rivals to become a legitimate competitor to FSD quickly.
“The notion that someone can ‘catch up’ to this problem primarily through simulation and limited on-road exposure strikes me as deeply naive. This is not a demo problem. It is a scale, data, and iteration problem— and Tesla is already far, far down that road while others are just getting started,” Beisel wrote.
Musk responded to Beisel’s post, stating that “Roughly 10 billion miles of training data is needed to achieve safe unsupervised self-driving. Reality has a super long tail of complexity.” This is quite interesting considering that in his Master Plan Part Deux, Elon Musk estimated that worldwide regulatory approval for autonomous driving would require around 6 billion miles.
FSD’s total training miles
As 2025 came to a close, Tesla community members observed that FSD was already nearing 7 billion miles driven, with over 2.5 billion miles being from inner city roads. The 7-billion-mile mark was passed just a few days later. This suggests that Tesla is likely the company today with the most training data for its autonomous driving program.
The difficulties of achieving autonomy were referenced by Elon Musk recently, when he commented on Nvidia’s Alpamayo program. As per Musk, “they will find that it’s easy to get to 99% and then super hard to solve the long tail of the distribution.” These sentiments were echoed by Tesla VP for AI software Ashok Elluswamy, who also noted on X that “the long tail is sooo long, that most people can’t grasp it.”
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Tesla earns top honors at MotorTrend’s SDV Innovator Awards
MotorTrend’s SDV Awards were presented during CES 2026 in Las Vegas.
Tesla emerged as one of the most recognized automakers at MotorTrend’s 2026 Software-Defined Vehicle (SDV) Innovator Awards.
As could be seen in a press release from the publication, two key Tesla employees were honored for their work on AI, autonomy, and vehicle software. MotorTrend’s SDV Awards were presented during CES 2026 in Las Vegas.
Tesla leaders and engineers recognized
The fourth annual SDV Innovator Awards celebrate pioneers and experts who are pushing the automotive industry deeper into software-driven development. Among the most notable honorees for this year was Ashok Elluswamy, Tesla’s Vice President of AI Software, who received a Pioneer Award for his role in advancing artificial intelligence and autonomy across the company’s vehicle lineup.
Tesla also secured recognition in the Expert category, with Lawson Fulton, a staff Autopilot machine learning engineer, honored for his contributions to Tesla’s driver-assistance and autonomous systems.
Tesla’s software-first strategy
While automakers like General Motors, Ford, and Rivian also received recognition, Tesla’s multiple awards stood out given the company’s outsized role in popularizing software-defined vehicles over the past decade. From frequent OTA updates to its data-driven approach to autonomy, Tesla has consistently treated vehicles as evolving software platforms rather than static products.
This has made Tesla’s vehicles very unique in their respective sectors, as they are arguably the only cars that objectively get better over time. This is especially true for vehicles that are loaded with the company’s Full Self-Driving system, which are getting progressively more intelligent and autonomous over time. The majority of Tesla’s updates to its vehicles are free as well, which is very much appreciated by customers worldwide.
Tesla AI Head says future FSD feature has already partially shipped
Tesla’s Elon Musk: 10 billion miles needed for safe Unsupervised FSD
