Tesla Admits to California DMV That Their ‘Full Self Driving’ Mode Is Not Capable of Autonomous Driving

Roberto Baldwin, writing for Car and Driver:

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has been promising FSD (Full Self Driving) software for years. For owners, opting for the chance to have their Tesla drive them to work and back mostly on its own has set them back to the tune of up to $10,000. But according to a letter that Tesla sent to the California DMV about FSD’s capability, acquired by PlainSite via a public records request, the dream of a self-driving car from the automaker this year might be just that, a dream.

The key correspondence comes from December 28, 2020, between Tesla’s associate general counsel Eric C. Williams and California DMV’s chief of the autonomous vehicles branch, Miguel D. Acosta. A letter details the capabilities of both Autopilot and FSD: “Currently neither Autopilot nor FSD Capability is an autonomous system, and currently no comprising feature, whether singularly or collectively, is autonomous or makes our vehicles autonomous,” Williams states.

The Tesla true believers are as convinced that level 5 autonomy is just around the corner as the QAnon kooks are about The Storm.

★ Wednesday, 10 March 2021