In this world, three things are certain: death, taxes, and the tendency of Tesla fanatics to downplay any issues with their vehicles. It’s not often you get to witness a real-time Tesla apologist in action, but you can in this video from HyperChange.
The premise of the video of simple. The hosts want to get a sense of the state of advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS), so they take a ride in a Waymo robotaxi, to meet their friend Omar Qazi, who runs the pro Tesla Whole Mars Catalog blog, and to get a ride in his Tesla Model S, which is equipped with FSD.
That premise, simple though it is, is the first sign that things are about to go sideways in this clip. For starters, the vehicles are not comparable. Although they both claim to be self-driving, the Waymo doesn’t need anyone in the driver’s seat, making it a Level 4 autonomous robotaxi.
Read: ‘Reasonable Evidence’ That Tesla, Musk Knew About Autopilot Defect, Judge Finds
On the other hand, Full Self-Driving (FSD) is classified as a level 2+ system. This means that, not only does someone need to occupy the driver’s seat, but they must also maintain control of the vehicle at all times. Recent legal decisions demonstrate that this distinction is significant not only for Tesla’s legal team but also for your own. This video serves as evidence that the distinction matters to your mortal safety as well.
Although neither ride is without foibles (the Waymo drops the video’s hosts off half a block away from their destination), the Tesla has some real safety lapses. The trouble starts at around the 16 minutes mark, as the Model S goes down one of San Francisco’s famously steep streets.
The car blows a stop sign at an intersection, causing a thud as it flies through, forcing Qazi to intervene and take the wheel. Once through the intersection, the Tesla veers to the right, heading towards some parked vehicles. This once again requires the driver to take control of the wheel and park the EV to inspect the cleanliness of the cameras.
The real pièce de résistance of the whole episode is that the error occurs as Qazi is explaining why reducing the number of sensors in a partially self-driving vehicle is a better move because it cuts costs. He argues that this means more similar vehicles can get out onto the street. The timing is funny, but the argument is alarming.
Calling FSD Level 2 to regulators but advertising it as Level 4 to customers
Qazi is effectively saying the quiet part loud here, explaining how Tesla has circumvented testing rules and safety measures that Waymo, Cruise, and others are subject to by calling its vehicles level 2 to regulators and advertising them as basically level 4 to customers. All the while, it has turned the world’s roads into a test track, regardless of what impact that has on the safety of others. More frustrating still, Tesla is offloading the risk that those autonomous companies take on to its drivers.
Both Qazi and the driver admit that the episode was bad, and while there is a degree of concern within the vehicle, it quickly passes, and the driver returns to his point that getting more vehicles onto the road like this is important to make fully autonomous vehicles possible. He even goes so far as to say that the advantage of making FSD worse is that it can drive everywhere, instead of just in specified areas.
Since courts have ruled that the responsibility for errors made while Tesla’s ADAS systems are engaged falls entirely on the driver, this video isn’t just a bad argument for Qazi’s point, it’s also incriminating evidence.