We tried Tesla's 'full self-driving.' Here's what happened
When a dozen small children crossed in front of our Tesla with "full self-driving," I had good reason to be nervous.
I'd spent my morning so far in the backseat of the Model 3 using "full self-driving," the system that Tesla says will change the world by enabling safe and reliable autonomous vehicles. I'd watched the software nearly crash into a construction site, try to turn into a stopped truck and attempt to drive down the wrong side of the road. Angry drivers blared their horns as the system hesitated, sometimes right in the middle of an intersection. (We had an attentive human driver behind the wheel during all of our tests, to take full control when needed.)
The Model 3's "full self-driving" needed plenty of human interventions to protect us and everyone else on the road. Sometimes that meant tapping the brake to turn off the software, so that it wouldn't try to drive around a car in front of us. Other times we quickly jerked the wheel to avoid a crash. (Tesla tells drivers to pay constant attention to the road, and be prepared to act immediately.)
I hoped the car wouldn't make any more stupid mistakes. After what felt like an eternity the kids finished crossing. I exhaled.
We were clear to make our turn. The car seemed overly hesitant initially, but then I noticed a bicyclist coming from our left. We waited.
Once the bicyclist crossed the intersection, the car pulled up and made a smooth turn.
Over the past year I've watched more than a hundred videos of Tesla owners using "full self-driving" technology, and I've spoken to many of them about their experiences.
"Full self-driving" is a $10,000 driver-assist feature offered by Tesla. While all new Teslas are capable of using the "full self-driving" software, buyers must opt into the costly addition if they want to access the feature. The software is still in Beta and is currently available to only a select group of Tesla owners, though CEO Elon Musk has claimed that a wider rollout is imminent. Musk promises "full self-driving" will be totally capable of getting a car to its destination in the near future.
But it doesn't do that. Far from it.
Tesla owners have described the technology as impressive but also flawed. One moment it's driving perfectly, the next moment it nearly crashes into something.
Jason Tallman, a Tesla owner who documents his "full self-driving" trips on YouTube, offered to let me experience it first-hand.
We asked Jason to meet us on Brooklyn's Flatbush Avenue. It's an urban artery that funnels thousands of cars, trucks, cyclists and pedestrians into Manhattan. For even experienced human drivers, it can be a challenge.
City driving is chaotic, with vehicles running red lights and pedestrians on nearly every block. It's a far cry from the suburban neighborhoods and predictable highways around Tesla's California offices, or the broad streets of Arizona, where Alphabet's Waymo operates fully autonomous vehicles.
Cruise, GM's self-driving company, recently completed its first fully autonomous rides in San Francisco. But they were conducted after 11 p.m. at night, when traffic is light and few pedestrians or cyclists are present.
Brooklyn offered us a chance to see how close Tesla's autonomous driving software was to replacing human drivers. It's the sort of place where humans drive because they have to, not the sort of place selected by a corporate headquarters. It's where self-driving cars might have the biggest impact.
At one point we were cruising along in the right lane of Flatbush. A construction site loomed ahead. The car continued full speed ahead toward a row of metal fencing.
I felt deja vu as I recalled a video in which a Tesla owner slammed on the brakes after his car appeared set on crashing headlong into a construction site.
But this time I was sitting in the back seat. I instinctively threw up my right arm like the Heisman Trophy, as if to protect myself in a collision.
That was a moment I wished "full self-driving" would be quick to change lanes. In other cases, I wished it would chill out on its aggressive turns.
"Full self-driving" sometimes makes jerky turns. The wheel starts to turn, but then shifts back, before again turning in its intended direction. The staggered turns generally don't seem to be a bother on sweeping suburban curves, but in a dense city largely built before cars, it's uncomfortable.
There's also the braking, which can feel random. At one point a car came close to rear ending us following braking that surprised me. Getting honked at was common. I never quite felt like I knew what "full self-driving" would do next. Asking "full self-driving" to navigate Brooklyn felt like asking a student driver to take on a road test they weren't ready for yet.
What "full self-driving" could do well was impressive, but the experience was ultimately unnerving. I can't imagine using "full self-driving" regularly in a city. I noticed I was reluctant to ever look down at the Model 3's dashboard, such as for checking our speed, because I didn't want to take my eyes off the road.
Tesla owners routinely tell me how Autopilot, the highway-focused predecessor to "full self-driving" makes their trips less stressful. They arrive at destinations feeling less fatigued. Some have told me they're more likely to go on long road trips because of Autopilot.
But "full self-driving" felt like the inverse. I felt like I needed to be constantly on guard to prevent the car from doing something wrong.
Ultimately, seeing "full self-driving" in Brooklyn reminded me of the importance of the finer points of driving, which is tough for an artificial intelligence powered car to master. Things like pulling slightly into the intersection on a narrow road to make a left turn, so traffic behind you has room to pull around. "Full self-driving" just sat in place as frustrated drivers behind us honked.
For now, "full self-driving" seems closer to a party trick to show friends than a must-have feature.
我们尝试了特斯拉的“全自动驾驶”。这是发生的事情
当十几个小孩带着“全自动驾驶”从我们的特斯拉面前穿过时，我有充分的理由感到紧张。
到目前为止，我一直在使用“全自动驾驶”的 Model 3 后座度过我的早晨，特斯拉称该系统将通过启用安全可靠的自动驾驶汽车来改变世界。我曾目睹该软件差点撞上建筑工地，试图变成一辆停下的卡车并试图驶向错误的道路。当系统犹豫不决时，愤怒的司机按喇叭，有时就在十字路口的中间。 （在我们所有的测试中，我们都有一位细心的人类司机在驾驶，以便在需要时完全控制。）
Model 3 的“全自动驾驶”需要大量的人工干预来保护我们和路上的其他人。有时这意味着踩刹车关闭软件，这样它就不会试图绕过我们前面的汽车。其他时候，我们会迅速猛拉方向盘以避免撞车。 （特斯拉告诉司机要时刻注意道路，并准备好立即采取行动。）
我希望这辆车不要再犯愚蠢的错误。在感觉像是永恒之后，孩子们完成了穿越。我呼了口气。
我们很清楚轮到我们了。这辆车最初似乎过于犹豫，但后来我注意到一个骑自行车的人从我们左边过来。我们等着。
骑自行车的人穿过十字路口后，汽车停了下来，平稳地转弯。
在过去的一年里，我观看了上百个特斯拉车主使用“全自动驾驶”技术的视频，并与他们中的许多人谈论了他们的经历。
“全自动驾驶”是特斯拉提供的一项价值 10,000 美元的驾驶员辅助功能。虽然所有新特斯拉都能够使用“完全自动驾驶”软件，但如果买家想要使用该功能，则必须选择昂贵的附加功能。该软件仍处于 Beta 版阶段，目前仅可供部分特斯拉车主使用，尽管首席执行官埃隆马斯克声称即将推出更广泛的产品。马斯克承诺“全自动驾驶”将完全有能力在不久的将来将汽车送到目的地。
但它不会那样做。离得很远。
特斯拉车主称这项技术令人印象深刻，但也存在缺陷。前一刻它完美驾驶，下一刻它几乎撞到了什么东西。
杰森·塔尔曼 (Jason Tallman) 是特斯拉车主，他在 YouTube 上记录了他的“全自动驾驶”旅行，他主动提出让我亲身体验。
我们请杰森在布鲁克林的弗拉特布什大街与我们见面。这是一条城市动脉，将成千上万辆汽车、卡车、骑自行车的人和行人汇集到曼哈顿。即使是经验丰富的人类驾驶员，这也可能是一个挑战。
城市驾驶很混乱，几乎每个街区都有车辆闯红灯和行人。这与特斯拉加州办公室周围的郊区社区和可预测的高速公路，或亚利桑那州宽阔的街道相去甚远，Alphabet 的 Waymo 在这里运营全自动驾驶汽车。
通用汽车的自动驾驶公司 Cruise 最近在旧金山完成了首次全自动驾驶。但他们是在晚上 11 点之后进行的。在夜间，当交通畅通且行人或骑自行车的人很少时。
布鲁克林让我们有机会看到特斯拉的自动驾驶软件与取代人类司机的差距有多大。这是人类必须开车的地方，而不是公司总部选择的地方。这就是自动驾驶汽车可能产生最大影响的地方。
有一次，我们在弗拉特布什的右车道上巡航。一个建筑工地出现在眼前。汽车继续全速朝着一排金属围栏前进。
当我回忆起一段视频时，我有一种似曾相识的感觉，视频中一位特斯拉车主在他的汽车似乎一头扎进建筑工地后猛踩刹车。
但这一次我坐在后座。我像海斯曼奖杯一样本能地举起右臂，似乎是为了在碰撞中保护自己。
那一刻我希望“全自动驾驶”能够快速变道。在其他情况下，我希望它能够在激进的转弯中冷静下来。
“全自动驾驶”有时会颠簸。车轮开始转动，但随后向后移动，然后再次向其预定方向转动。在郊区弯道上，交错的转弯通常似乎并不麻烦，但在一个主要是在汽车之前建造的密集城市中，这很不舒服。
还有刹车，感觉很随意。有一次，一辆车在刹车后差点追上我们，这让我感到惊讶。被按喇叭是很常见的。我从来没有觉得自己知道“全自动驾驶”下一步会做什么。要求“完全自动驾驶”在布鲁克林导航感觉就像要求一名学生司机参加他们还没有准备好的路试。
“全自动驾驶”的表现令人印象深刻，但最终的体验却令人不安。我无法想象在一个城市经常使用“全自动驾驶”。我注意到我不愿意低头看 Model 3 的仪表板，比如检查我们的速度，因为我不想把视线从路上移开。
特斯拉车主经常告诉我 Autopilot，专注于高速公路的“全自动驾驶”的前身如何让他们的旅行压力更小。他们到达目的地时感觉不那么疲劳。有些人告诉我，由于 Autopilot，他们更有可能进行长途旅行。
但“完全自动驾驶”感觉正好相反。我觉得我需要时刻保持警惕，以防止汽车做错事。
最终，在布鲁克林看到“全自动驾驶”让我想起了驾驶细节的重要性，这对于人工智能驱动的汽车来说是很难掌握的。诸如在狭窄的道路上略微驶入十字路口左转之类的事情，因此您身后的车辆有足够的空间来绕行。当我们身后沮丧的司机按喇叭时，“全自动驾驶”就在原地不动。
就目前而言，“全自动驾驶”似乎更接近于向朋友展示的聚会技巧，而不是必备功能。
