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Tesla Full Self-Driving changes your perception of travel — long or short
Tesla Full Self-Driving will ruin controlling your vehicle manually.
Tesla does not tell you what Full Self-Driving will do to your perception of travel. Whether your next trip is a two-minute ride up the street to the grocery store or a 1,500-mile trip across multiple states, you’ll never look at driving the same way.
This past weekend, I was lucky enough to have a new Tesla Model Y for the weekend. Equipped with the company’s Hardware 4 computer, the latest software version, and all of the new Model Y’s improvements from the legacy iteration, I knew much of my weekend would be spent testing FSD, as I have never had an extended experience with it.
By the time the weekend was over and it was time to pick up my non-Tesla car, I realized I was not ready to let go. Having the car drive me around from location to location all weekend was something I truly enjoyed, but it was more than just a convenience thing. I felt impressed, relaxed, and even, in some instances, safer.
🚨 The final leg of our trip here: FSD did a great job of navigating through this parking lot and getting us onto a highway with a very short on-ramp (a very typical part of living and driving in Pennsylvania).
Also, Autopark did a great job! I would like to see it improve by… pic.twitter.com/OBefKZKDCo
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) May 5, 2025
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What Tesla Full Self-Driving Did Well
Now, before I truly begin, I do want to say that I don’t think I’ll ever feel safer than when I’m in ultimate control of the vehicle. However, a lot of things that give me stress during a drive were handled with relative ease by the car — and I was happy I didn’t have to deal with it.
One instance was merging onto a busy highway with a very short merge lane. Full Self-Driving took a no-holds-barred approach, taking the space it was given and grabbing a spot in the right lane quickly.
It was not willing to be passive, but it was also not willing to sacrifice safety. It will not wait for others to pull the trigger and go at intersections or four-way stops. If there are a few seconds of stagnation from the car and another driver in that instance, it will go, of course, proceeding safely.
It even did a handful of things I didn’t expect it to do. It would stay in the right lane if multiple on-ramps were approaching. I took it on a stretch of highway where three on-ramps are all within a mile of one another.
-->It passed a tractor-trailer just before we made it to the first of those three on-ramps. It stayed in that left lane after overtaking the 18-wheeler, as Driver Visualization showed more cars approaching to merge. It was one of those moments that, even though I have written about this topic for several years, was unbelievably impressive.
It not only drives people safely, but it is also considerate of other drivers, which is very impressive.
I was incredibly surprised to see my Fiancè have so much ease when it was operating.
🚨 Tesla Full Self-Driving takes my Fiancé and I to Target
Flawless drive! We’ll document the rest of our errands today! pic.twitter.com/TAx3mWmVgh
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) May 4, 2025
I figured, just because she is not as familiar with what Tesla does to make FSD better and how it works, that she would be very on edge during our rides. This was the opposite. She felt comfortable enough to look away from the road while in the passenger seat. Scrolling her phone or looking out at the blooming flowers was what she did in the car. It was no different from when I’m driving, and I think that was what was most impressive to me.
Driving after FSD
I found that picking up my car and driving manually back home truly brought me back to real life. Everyone with a Tesla and Full Self-Driving says that when you go back to another car, you feel like you’re stuck in the past.
I really did feel that way. Not only because of the aesthetic of the interior, but just because I was doing something that I just realized could be done for me with the right vehicle.
🚨 100% the truth!
Once you go FSD, you never go back! https://t.co/uq7qkgAbtA pic.twitter.com/lUN3rT2Kkl
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) May 8, 2025
While I love the car I own now, I’m still deciding whether I love it enough to keep it. To be completely honest, I have hopped around with the idea of trading in my car for the new Model Y. Whether I will or not truly depends on the next few weeks and how I feel, but I know that I will be considering it for the next few months easily.
News
Tesla Model 3 named New Zealand’s best passenger car of 2025
Tesla flipped the switch on Full Self-Driving (Supervised) in September, turning every Model 3 and Model Y into New Zealand’s most advanced production car overnight.
The refreshed Tesla Model 3 has won the DRIVEN Car Guide AA Insurance NZ Car of the Year 2025 award in the Passenger Car category, beating all traditional and electric rivals.
Judges praised the all-electric sedan’s driving dynamics, value-packed EV tech, and the game-changing addition of Full Self-Driving (Supervised) that went live in New Zealand this September.
Why the Model 3 clinched the crown
DRIVEN admitted they were late to the “Highland” party because the updated sedan arrived in New Zealand as a 2024 model, just before the new Model Y stole the headlines. Yet two things forced a re-evaluation this year.
First, experiencing the new Model Y reminded testers how many big upgrades originated in the Model 3, such as the smoother ride, quieter cabin, ventilated seats, rear touchscreen, and stalk-less minimalist interior. Second, and far more importantly, Tesla flipped the switch on Full Self-Driving (Supervised) in September, turning every Model 3 and Model Y into New Zealand’s most advanced production car overnight.
FSD changes everything for Kiwi buyers
The publication called the entry-level rear-wheel-drive version “good to drive and represents a lot of EV technology for the money,” but highlighted that FSD elevates it into another league. “Make no mistake, despite the ‘Supervised’ bit in the name that requires you to remain ready to take control, it’s autonomous and very capable in some surprisingly tricky scenarios,” the review stated.
-->At NZ$11,400, FSD is far from cheap, but Tesla also offers FSD (Supervised) on a $159 monthly subscription, making the tech accessible without the full upfront investment. That’s a game-changer, as it allows users to access the company’s most advanced system without forking over a huge amount of money.
News
Tesla starts rolling out FSD V14.2.1 to AI4 vehicles including Cybertruck
FSD V14.2.1 was released just about a week after the initial FSD V14.2 update was rolled out.
It appears that the Tesla AI team burned the midnight oil, allowing them to release FSD V14.2.1 on Thanksgiving. The update has been reported by Tesla owners with AI4 vehicles, as well as Cybertruck owners.
For the Tesla AI team, at least, it appears that work really does not stop.
FSD V14.2.1
Initial posts about FSD V14.2.1 were shared by Tesla owners on social media platform X. As per the Tesla owners, V14.2.1 appears to be a point update that’s designed to polish the features and capacities that have been available in FSD V14. A look at the release notes for FSD V14.2.1, however, shows that an extra line has been added.
“Camera visibility can lead to increased attention monitoring sensitivity.”
Whether this could lead to more drivers being alerted to pay attention to the roads more remains to be seen. This would likely become evident as soon as the first batch of videos from Tesla owners who received V14.21 start sharing their first drive impressions of the update. Despite the update being released on Thanksgiving, it would not be surprising if first impressions videos of FSD V14.2.1 are shared today, just the same.
-->Rapid FSD releases
What is rather interesting and impressive is the fact that FSD V14.2.1 was released just about a week after the initial FSD V14.2 update was rolled out. This bodes well for Tesla’s FSD users, especially since CEO Elon Musk has stated in the past that the V14.2 series will be for “widespread use.”
FSD V14 has so far received numerous positive reviews from Tesla owners, with numerous drivers noting that the system now drives better than most human drivers because it is cautious, confident, and considerate at the same time. The only question now, really, is if the V14.2 series does make it to the company’s wide FSD fleet, which is still populated by numerous HW3 vehicles.
News
Waymo rider data hints that Tesla’s Cybercab strategy might be the smartest, after all
These observations all but validate Tesla’s controversial two-seat Cybercab strategy, which has caught a lot of criticism since it was unveiled last year.
Toyota Connected Europe designer Karim Dia Toubajie has highlighted a particular trend that became evident in Waymo’s Q3 2025 occupancy stats. As it turned out, 90% of the trips taken by the driverless taxis carried two or fewer passengers.
These observations all but validate Tesla’s controversial two-seat Cybercab strategy, which has caught a lot of criticism since it was unveiled last year.
Toyota designer observes a trend
Karim Dia Toubajie, Lead Product Designer (Sustainable Mobility) at Toyota Connected Europe, analyzed Waymo’s latest California Public Utilities Commission filings and posted the results on LinkedIn this week.
“90% of robotaxi trips have 2 or less passengers, so why are we using 5-seater vehicles?” Toubajie asked. He continued: “90% of trips have 2 or less people, 75% of trips have 1 or less people.” He accompanied his comments with a graphic showing Waymo’s occupancy rates, which showed 71% of trips having one passenger, 15% of trips having two passengers, 6% of trips having three passengers, 5% of trips having zero passengers, and only 3% of trips having four passengers.
The data excludes operational trips like depot runs or charging, though Toubajie pointed out that most of the time, Waymo’s massive self-driving taxis are really just transporting 1 or 2 people, at times even no passengers at all. “This means that most of the time, the vehicle being used significantly outweighs the needs of the trip,” the Toyota designer wrote in his post.
-->Cybercab suddenly looks perfectly sized
Toubajie gave a nod to Tesla’s approach. “The Tesla Cybercab announced in 2024, is a 2-seater robotaxi with a 50kWh battery but I still believe this is on the larger side of what’s required for most trips,” he wrote.
With Waymo’s own numbers now proving 90% of demand fits two seats or fewer, the wheel-less, lidar-free Cybercab now looks like the smartest play in the room. The Cybercab is designed to be easy to produce, with CEO Elon Musk commenting that its product line would resemble a consumer electronics factory more than an automotive plant. This means that the Cybercab could saturate the roads quickly once it is deployed.
While the Cybercab will likely take the lion’s share of Tesla’s ride-hailing passengers, the Model 3 sedan and Model Y crossover would be perfect for the remaining 9% of riders who require larger vehicles. This should be easy to implement for Tesla, as the Model Y and Model 3 are both mass-market vehicles.
Tesla Model 3 named New Zealand’s best passenger car of 2025
Tesla starts rolling out FSD V14.2.1 to AI4 vehicles including Cybertruck
