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I tried Tesla’s FSD Supervised on a demo drive—Here’s what I learned
Tesla’s Supervised Full Self-Driving (FSD) has been at the center of the company’s long-term strategy for years, and seeing as I’ve been covering the company and its competitors since 2020, I decided it was finally time to try it out myself.
The process of scheduling a demo drive was simple: I scheduled it online through Tesla’s test drive page, and because I was hoping to focus on FSD, I shot an email over to the Loveland team letting them know that I was coming and was planning to try the software out. I got a quick response, in which one of the advisors offered to schedule me for an extended demo drive, effectively giving me a three-hour window to try out FSD Supervised.
On Monday, I headed out from my house in Fort Collins, Colorado, to the next town over, Loveland, to try Tesla’s latest FSD Supervised version available. While I initially scheduled a demo drive for a Model Y with FSD Supervised v13.2.2, one of the Tesla advisors informed me that there was also a Model S on-site with version v13.2.2.1, so I elected to test that one instead.
After getting a quick rundown from the advisor on the Model S, my demo drive officially began. I typed my first destination into the navigation system, pressed and held the blue “Start FSD (Supervised)” button, and off I went.
Tesla’s FSD Supervised: autonomy is definitely on the way
Perhaps many people have this experience when trying FSD out for the first time, but right off the bat, I found myself laughing at how it worked and a little scared that it would make a mistake. This Model S was now driving me out of the Loveland Tesla parking lot to a nearby Target, through busy parking lots, turns and lane changes, and it was pretty uncomfortable at first not to be the one making the maneuvers—let alone the fact that no person was making these maneuvers, but rather it was the vehicle doing it on its own.
I felt like an anxious passenger—my feet pressed firmly on the floor in distrust and disbelief—only I was sitting in the driver’s seat. I really couldn’t do much but laugh at how strange the experience had felt so far.
Then, not long after my first trip, something interesting happened.
My mindset slowly shifted from fear to trust with each correct maneuver, and I managed my first few drives without disengaging at all, offering a true testament to how well FSD Supervised performed on this test. Granted, I went in without too much of a plan and wasn’t targeting fringe cases or particularly tough maneuvers; I just wanted to see if this car could drive me around for a few hours, and to feel what it was like to demo FSD Supervised as a newcomer.
It’s worth noting that I did most of my driving in FSD’s Chill mode, though I also tested a few drives in both Standard and Hurry. Personally, I think I would probably keep it in Chill mode most of the time, as it’s the most similar to how I drive of the three.
Below are a few moments from the drive that show some of the system’s capabilities, even turning onto busy roads that would be difficult for a human driver.
Tesla’s FSD Supervised reverses out of a parking spot… and we’re off
A simple reverse out of a parking spot, a good start! pic.twitter.com/TIx2yDmSxT
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) January 15, 2025
Tesla’s FSD Supervised takes a few left turns onto busy roads
Another busy left turn – “FSD handled this busy turn with ease.” pic.twitter.com/SncR0Kh7ar
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) January 15, 2025
Another left turn during a somewhat busy time of day – “I was a little scared, not going to lie, but FSD handled it well.” pic.twitter.com/WNunR05C3h
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) January 15, 2025
Tesla’s FSD Supervised tackles a two-lane roundabout and parking lot
Roundabout? No problem! – “A two-lane roundabout that FSD handled pretty comfortably.” pic.twitter.com/X9QJIVXb6z
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) January 15, 2025
Left-hand turn out of a parking lot – “It was pretty busy in there but it was well handled, the car navigated easily through the intersection just as I would have.” pic.twitter.com/Kzxb0aYtFN
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) January 15, 2025
READ MORE ON TESLA’S FSD SUPERVISED: Tesla Cybertruck receives FSD (Supervised) v13.2.4 update
The temptation not to pay attention, and my most critical disengagement
Elon Musk and others have talked up FSD Supervised v13 since its release, as well as claiming that unsupervised driving is just around the corner. While it does feel closer than ever after years of reporting on small tweaks, improvements and developments, I think it’s also worth emphasizing again that the system still requires the driver to pay attention, even though it’s tempting to believe that it can handle all the driving by itself.
As I drove more and more, or rather as the car drove me, I became more comfortable trusting that FSD Supervised was going to make the right decisions, which it did about 99 percent of the time. I was lulled into somewhat of a false sense of safety that almost had me believing the vehicle didn’t need to be supervised, but that 1 percent of the time (maybe even less) that it did get confused still required my input.
I only had a few interventions for the whole experience, but one in particular had me a little scared after having become a little complacent and too trusting. As you can see in the video below, FSD Supervised was looking to merge into the right lane, when two vehicles slowed down. The Model S attempted to change lanes anyway, requiring me to overtake the wheel and keep driving straight.
Our first bit of adversity – “This was the most dangerous intervention I faced (I only had about three the whole time). FSD was trying to merge right, but the vehicles in that lane slowed down, and the car didn’t seem to understand what was going on. It started merging into the… pic.twitter.com/hJUBnCAjd2
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) January 15, 2025
Besides the quick moment of fear in deciding I needed to take the wheel, it really was not a big deal once I regained control. It was actually a good wake-up call: this system still needs to be supervised, even if it makes fewer and fewer mistakes with each new version and feels like a solid human driver for the vast majority of the time.
I had a few other disengagements on my drive, mostly when the vehicle seemed to get confused about uncommon traffic circumstances or in confusing parking lot scenarios without clear signage. However, these moments made up a very small portion of my experience, and I can only imagine what another couple of years of development will do.
Tesla’s FSD Supervised: still needs supervision, but I got a good glimpse into a future of autonomy
All in all, I really enjoyed trying out FSD Supervised and I hope to do it again sometime. Additionally, I’d recommend trying it out to anyone, especially if you’re interested in seeing where driving tech is headed.
While I definitely got a glimpse into the future potential for fully autonomous driving, I also think it still requires supervision, even if just for those very seldom moments where the system gets confused. The margin for error with driving safety is obviously extremely low, though I do believe Tesla will eventually make good on its aim to make this system better than human drivers in time—and it already feels pretty close the majority of the time.
I hope to do this again sometime soon, and a major shout out to the Tesla Loveland team for making the experience smooth and for answering all my questions along the way.
What are your thoughts? Let me know at zach@teslarati.com, find me on X at @zacharyvisconti, or send us tips at tips@teslarati.com.
Tesla employees are performing autonomous FSD trials, CEO Elon Musk says
Need accessories for your Tesla? Check out the Teslarati Marketplace:
Tesla Full Self-Driving is now the centerpiece of the company’s newly revised Referral Program, which launched on October 29.
Instead of referring people to purchase vehicles and the referrer receiving $250 in Tesla Credit, the new program now incentivizes Full Self-Driving subscriptions.
If a Tesla owner is on an FSD trial and uses a referral code to subscribe to Full Self-Driving, the person whose Referral Link was used will receive one month of FSD (Supervised). Their code can be utilized 12 times per year, with January 1 marking the reset date.
Realistically, this means that if your Referral Code is used by 12 Tesla owners on an FSD trial, you will receive a full year of FSD for free.
🚨 Here is Tesla’s new Referral Program for Full Self-Driving (Supervised):
When someone subscribes to FSD using your link, you’ll get a month free. Up to a year of FSD is available to you for free!
If you’d like to use my link: https://t.co/g00IX9OCE3 https://t.co/GFBzEO2jjS
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) October 30, 2026
The previous program made it pretty difficult to get referrals; buying a vehicle is obviously a much larger financial strain than subscribing to Full Self-Driving for a month.
Of course, the previous Referral Program also offered a tangible benefit: $250 in credits you could use on Service, Supercharging, or anything in the Tesla Shop. It truly could pay for someone’s travel for a year. It recently bought me a new backpack and a T-shirt.
However, this new program is much more attainable for those who do not have a massive online presence of a slew of friends in the Tesla community who will use the code and max out subscriptions for vehicle purchases.
Woke up to maxed out Referrals! Thank you guys, that’s awesome!
Share your referral link below so others can use it! https://t.co/kesbwTcoTV
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) October 30, 2026
The Full Self-Driving suite will now be the keystone of the Referral Program, which makes it more inclusive and more fun for everyone with an awesome benefit.
It also gives the impression that Tesla is truly focused on FSD subscriptions, something that saw a tremendous increase in volume in Q3, as 75 percent of deliveries for the quarter came with an FSD subscription attached.
Full Self-Driving data is so instrumental to the suite’s improvement that this kind of program benefits Tesla as much as it does the consumer.
Elon Musk
Tesla made napping in a Robotaxi easier with its latest update
Tesla’s quiet mode reaches Model Y Robotaxis, blacking out the screen for riders wanting rest.
Tesla’s quiet mode, the setting that blacks out the screen for riders who want to rest, has moved beyond the Cybercab. A video posted Thursday by Spencer (@scotsrule08) shows the feature running in a Model Y Robotaxi on a night ride that appears to be in Dallas.
New quiet mode now on @Robotaxi https://t.co/2cM2eM9NeN — Spencer (@scotsrule08) October 29, 2026
The rider taps a small crescent moon icon in the bottom right corner of the map screen. The map, media player, app shortcuts and Grok prompt disappear, leaving a dark display with “Arriving soon,” the destination and a line reading “Tap display to exit quiet mode.” Controls a passenger may still need, including Pull Over, cabin temperature, volume and Support, stay visible. One tap anywhere brings the full map back.
Quiet mode first showed up in the Cybercab last week, which Teslarati reported alongside a new rear camera view. Tesla has been trimming cabin noise in other ways too. On October 25, Spencer reported that Robotaxi turn signals now chime for the first four blinks and then go silent. Tesla has not published release notes for either change.
Elon Musk has been pitching this use for more than a decade. In October 2014, he said that “maybe five or six years from now I think we’ll be able to achieve true autonomous driving where you could literally get in the car, go to sleep and wake up at your destination,”
By 2017 he was setting a higher bar. Speaking at TED, Musk said the hard part was not making self-driving work 99.9 percent of the time, “because, like, if a car crashes one in a thousand times, then you’re probably still not going to be comfortable falling asleep. You shouldn’t be, certainly.”
Owners asked for something similar in their own cars. In December 2019, a Tesla owner requested a Nap Mode that would keep the climate running and wake the occupant with an alarm, and Musk answered “Ok,” as Teslarati covered at the time.
The line returned when the Cybercab was unveiled at the We, Robot event in October 2024. “We’ll move from supervised Full Self-Driving to unsupervised Full Self-Driving, where you can fall asleep and wake up at your destination,” Musk said. On Tesla’s first quarter earnings call in April 2025, he called it the deciding measure: “The acid test is, can you go to sleep in your car and wake up in your destination and I’m confident that will be available in many cities in the US by the end of this year,”
Tesla has run driverless Model Y rides in Dallas and Houston since April, so a passenger dozing off on the way home is now a realistic use of the button. Tesla is also offering new riders a free first trip in both cities, according to an in-app screen shared by tracker Ethan McKanna, and said on its third quarter call that Cybercab rides would launch in Dallas next month.
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FCC green lights SpaceX’s move to a showdown with Verizon and AT&T
The FCC advanced plans opening 482 MHz to satellite phone service, boosting SpaceX’s Starlink Mobile.
The Federal Communications Commission voted Thursday to move forward with a proposal that would open an additional 482 MHz of spectrum to satellite service beamed directly to ordinary phones, a step that could widen the road for SpaceX’s Starlink Mobile to compete with the country’s largest wireless carriers.
The commission adopted the notice of proposed rulemaking at its October open meeting in Washington, Reuters reported. The proposal would raise the number of bands eligible for Supplemental Coverage from Space from five to 13, according to the FCC fact sheet. Commissioners also advanced a companion item proposing an auction of 25 MHz in the 1675 to 1695 MHz and 2020 to 2025 MHz bands, which could be used for terrestrial service, direct to device service or both.
Thursday’s vote does not hand any spectrum to SpaceX. It opens a public comment period, and final rules will come later. Under the draft, comments would be due 60 days after the notice is published in the Federal Register. The FCC had not released the adopted text at the time of writing, so it is not yet clear whether any bands were changed before the vote.
That question is where the fight now moves. AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile, through industry group CTIA, asked the FCC to drop the 2.5 GHz and 3.45 GHz bands, which make up 290 MHz of the 482 MHz on the table, as Teslarati reported ahead of the vote. T-Mobile argued satellite interference could wipe out up to 96% of a cell site’s uplink coverage area. SpaceX asked the commission to go the other way and add the 902 to 928 MHz band.
The rule change that matters most to SpaceX may be a structural one. Today, a satellite operator must lease spectrum from every carrier holding co-channel licenses across an entire region such as the contiguous United States. The proposal would replace that with a certification that the operator has coexistence agreements covering only the areas it plans to serve, or that it holds the terrestrial licenses itself.
SpaceX has spent this year building that second path. It bought EchoStar’s AWS-4 and H-block licenses in a deal worth roughly $17 billion, and earlier this month agreed to acquire Grain Management’s nationwide 800 MHz portfolio, which the company said would pave the way for Starlink to become a major US mobile carrier. The FCC approved SpaceX’s purchase of three unused AWS-3 licenses from Tristar on October 21, and cleared its plan for 15,000 next generation direct to cell satellites on October 6.
The regulator has not always sided with SpaceX. In April, the FCC dismissed a SpaceX petition seeking access to Mobile Satellite Service spectrum held by incumbents, and it rejected 2.5 GHz for satellite coverage when it first adopted the framework in 2024.
The carriers are also building their own defenses. In May, the three companies agreed in principle to form a joint venture pooling spectrum for satellite service, and T-Mobile remains SpaceX’s US launch partner for Starlink Mobile even as it leads the push to keep satellites out of 2.5 GHz. SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell has said service on SpaceX’s own airwaves is targeted for early 2028.
Tesla Full Self-Driving becomes main pillar of new Referral Program
Tesla made napping in a Robotaxi easier with its latest update
