For years, Tesla has
distinguished itself
from other carmakers by focusing
on two initiatives-- building
sleek electric cars and
trying to develop software
and technology to create
the world's first, fully
autonomous, self-driving cars.
In fact, Tesla claims that
every new vehicle it builds
contains all the hardware
to be fully autonomous
and should eventually be
capable of driving itself
through over the air
software updates.
You'll pay a premium
for that software.
As of August 2020,
it costs Tesla owners
an additional $8,000 for
access to what it calls
full self-driving capability.
But do all the features of
the full self-driving package
work as advertised?
We're going to break down
each one of those features,
explain their intended
use, and show you how
they performed in our tests.
We ran our tests at
various times of day,
in a variety of
weather conditions,
and in different locations.
We also made sure that we had
the most up to date hardware
and software available,
which during our testing
was version 2020.24.66.4
running on hardware three 3.
This is important, as
Tesla's over the air software
updates can alter the way
these features perform.
Tesla's active driving
assistance systems
are split into two parts--
auto pilot, which includes
adaptive cruise control
and lane keeping
capabilities, is now
standard on every new Tesla.
We're focusing on the full
self-driving suite, which
includes Navigate on Autopilot,
Auto Lane Change, Autopark,
Summon, Smart Summon, and
Traffic Light and Stop Sign
control.
Let's start with Autopark.
With a tap of the
touch screen, the car
will automatically park your
car in either a parallel or
perpendicular space.
We found it often
worked as advertised,
but sometimes, it can
be difficult to engage
and doesn't always
pass straight.
Similar features
have been around
for years on cars
for many automakers
and they often suffer
from the same problems.
There is also Auto Lane Change.
While not unique to
Tesla, this feature
is straightforward and
works as advertised.
When Autopilot is
activated, the driver
engages the turn
signal to change lanes.
An animation appears
on the screen showing
where the car will
move and the car
performs that maneuver without
any further driver input.
It will wait if there's
a car on the way,
but safety is ultimately
the driver's responsibility.
Next up, Summon.
This feature is designed
to allow the car
to drive a short distance
forwards and backwards
without a driver
behind the wheel.
Using the Tesla app
on a smartphone,
you are able to direct the car
slowly forward or backwards
into a spot.
We found it performed
as advertised.
You might think it could help
in a narrow parking space,
but Tesla's owner's
manual acknowledges
that parking in a
narrow space limits
the ability of the sensors
to accurately detect
the locations of obstacles,
increasing the risk of damage
to the car and/or
surrounding objects.
Now those systems have
been around for years
and some have
improved over time.
However, we have some
significant concerns
with the newer features of
full self-driving package.
Let's take a look
at Smart Summon.
We tried out Smart Summon
in a number of scenarios,
including the parking lot at
Consumer Reports headquarters.
Overall, the system
proved unreliable.
At times, it would take overly
complicated routes to reach us.
And in other situations, it
would get stuck in an incline
and deactivate altogether.
Even when Smart Summon was
able to arrive at the location,
it would spend time in the wrong
lane, not pause for stop signs,
and take wide turns
towards parked cars
and need to go into reverse
to avoid a collision.
All of these are situations
that could cause confusion
to other drivers and
be a potential hazard
for any pedestrians
in the car's path.
Tesla states clearly
on its website
that smart summon
is only intended
for use in private parking
lots and driveways.
You are still responsible for
your car and must monitor it
and its surroundings
at all times
and be within your line of
sight because it may not
detect all obstacles.
We could see benefits
of this feature
in scenarios Tesla
uses as examples,
such as coming to pick
you up in your groceries
in a rainy parking lot.
But the system is
clearly not there yet.
However, we do appreciate
that this system
can't be used on public roads.
Next up, Navigate on Autopilot.
This feature uses
the Autopilot system,
but adds the ability for
a Tesla on the highway
to take on an off ramps, take
exits, and make lane changes
without driver in place.
Here's video of what we
experienced on the road.
While the system did perform
as advertised occasionally,
it was far from consistent.
In this case, the
system completely
ignores the exit it
intended to take.
And notice not
only is our tester
now off his or her route, but
is now stuck in a carpool lane.
We also found the system would
leave us driving in the passing
lanes for long
periods of time, when
it would be best for a car in
the scenario to be cruising
in the right lane.
And in this example,
the system suddenly
disengages, causing confusion
for a driver in a heavily
trafficked area, and with an
on ramp quickly approaching.
This is a situation
where the driver needs
to be focused on the
environment around them
and not distracted
with the system issue.
And the ability to
shut off the lane
change confirmations
and warnings
as an option is worrying,
if not downright dangerous,
as it could lead
to drivers becoming
startled by an unexpected
and unsafe lane change
while driving at highway speeds.
The latest feature on the
full self-driving package
is traffic light and
stop sign control.
Tesla says the system will
identify traffic lights
and stop signs and bring your
car to a stop as you approach.
If an intersection is clear, the
driver can tap the accelerator
or pull the stalk
and keep going.
Take a look at how it performed.
In this example, the car didn't
recognize a stop sign at all,
forcing our tester to
hit the brakes to avoid
driving right into
the intersection
and through the stop.
The system had issues
navigating around about,
stopping at each
exit in the junction.
It would slam on the brakes
when approaching a yield sign.
And by design, this feature
will stop you at any green light
where you don't have a lead
vehicle in front of you.
And unless you are
following another car
or override the system, it
will come to a complete stop
at green lights.
In fact, we think in
its current iteration,
the system could actually create
more distraction and confusion
for the driver.
Tesla does label the Navigate
on Autopilot and traffic light
and stops high control
features as beta.
While you do have to opt
in to use these features,
our testing demonstrated
a number of problems
with using them in
everyday driving.
Tesla says these systems
will improve over time,
but it's unclear whether or not
they're worth the hefty $8,000
price tag at this point.
Despite the name, the full
self-driving suite of features
doesn't make the car
self-driving at this point
and doesn't provide much
real benefit for customers.
Tesla collects
data from those who
buy it to help
improve the system,
but using developing technology
like this on the road
does not come without risk
for you and other drivers.
We reached out to Tesla for
comment regarding these issues,
but did not receive a reply.
We'll continue to
evaluate these and
other active driving
assistance systems
as they become available.
For more on advanced
safety systems,
check out consumerreports.org.
