Elon Musk asserts that investors won't fully grasp Tesla's capabilities unless they experience the Full Self-Driving autopilot. William Stein, an analyst at Truist Securities, took this statement literally and is rather displeased.
Stein decided to conduct a test drive of the Tesla Model Y and narrowly avoided an accident. It appears the autopilot inadequately gauged speed in a risky situation.
“The Model Y accelerated at an intersection, but the vehicle in front of us only partially completed its right turn. My swift intervention was absolutely necessary to prevent a collision,” Stein wrote.
William Stein tested the FSD in early April, following Tesla's Q1 earnings report, and again this month. Initially, he provided a mixed review: “incredibly well, but not useful today,” whereas now he states it was “no better, possibly worse.”
Both of Stein's trips took place around the suburbs of New York on quality dry roads. During his latest test, he was surprised by how well the FSD adjusted to closed lanes, potholes, and traffic flow, stating that the driving was “generally more natural” than in his previous test. He noted a concerning aspect of the FSD system's permissiveness, which allowed the driver to become distracted.
“I completely turned my head away from the road. The system continued to operate for 20-40 seconds before issuing a warning,” Stein wrote, adding that his son was attentive to potential hazards.
Aside from the driver's intervention to avoid a rear-end collision, Stein mentioned another instance where a police officer gestured for him to pull over to let a funeral procession pass.
“Later on a stretch of our route, the highway was curvy, narrow, and had a solid white line indicating lane change restrictions. However, the Model Y changed lanes twice under such conditions,” Stein elaborated.
The analyst concluded that the version of FSD he tested was remarkable, yet still fell short of addressing the ultimate question of full autonomy as Musk claims.
On Monday, Tesla CEO announced on X (formerly Twitter) that the automaker is rolling out an updated version of Full Self-Driving. To receive FSD 12.5.1, users need to connect to Wi-Fi; the update will be deployed over the next 10 days.
Elon Musk is placing significant emphasis on FSD and the use of artificial intelligence amidst slowing Tesla vehicle sales. This new announcement helped boost stock prices, which had fallen over 40% year-over-year by mid-April. At the close of trading last week, Tesla shares were down 12%, but rebounded on Monday after Morgan Stanley recognized Tesla as a leader among U.S. automotive stocks.
Source: Bloomberg
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