Author: French Fries Fish c
Beijing is a big city, but just how big is it?
Regarding this issue, my dear boss, @Chang Yan (CY) Chang teacher, will definitely tell you tearfully that it is really big–
“I commute 90 km every day to and from work.”
To ease his commuting stress, as a Tesla owner, Chang teacher purchased the “Full Self-Driving Capability Package (referred to as FSD beta)” early on, but he has yet to receive news of the release of FSD beta for use in China.
Therefore, I guess that “Tesla FSD beta enters China as soon as possible” must be on Chang teacher’s 2022 wish list.
As a thoughtful employee, I certainly have the duty to help my boss solve problems. For example, to tell him some “good” news about Tesla FSD beta:
According to statistics, in the United States, a total of 150,000 car owners have purchased the FSD beta package, but only 60,000 car owners have successfully activated the FSD beta function.
This means that there are still 90,000 big victims like Chang teacher in the US who have paid for FSD beta but are unable to enjoy its functions.
90,000 “stragglers”?
If you want to experience FSD beta now, you need to meet several conditions.
First, you need to be in the United States; second, you need to have a Tesla; and thirdly, you need to pay an additional $12,000. Yes, FSD beta has increased its price, and according to Musk, as FSD matures, its sales price will also correspondingly increase.
Okay, now you can press the FSD beta download button on the car’s onboard screen.
So, these 90,000 paying users didn’t experience FSD beta because they didn’t press the download button, right?
Of course not. In reality, what you download and install by clicking this button is not FSD beta, but a secure test scoring program.
This program will score your daily driving habits and Tesla will evaluate these scores comprehensively to give you a level. If you meet the standard, you can activate FSD beta.
So, Professor Chang was unable to use FSD beta because the Chinese market did not open FSD beta; the 90,000 victims in the United States did not use FSD beta because they could not pass Tesla’s safety test.
Tesla’s Hell-level Test
What kind of test has plagued the 90,000 victims?
In this scoring system, we start each day with a full score of 100 points. Then, throughout the day’s driving, bad driving habits are recorded and result in point deductions.
The following driving habits will cause point deductions:
- Hard Braking
Tesla has defined “hard braking” very strictly: if the acceleration towards the rear exceeds 0.3g, which is equivalent to the vehicle speed decreasing by 6.7 mph in one second, it will trigger point deduction. Of course, hard braking triggered by AEB will not be recorded.
- Hard Turning
Similarly, Tesla has defined “hard turning”: if the acceleration to the left or right exceeds 0.4g, which is equivalent to the horizontal speed increasing by 8.9 mph in one second. Similarly, hard turning while using Autopilot will not be recorded.
- Following Too Closely
When the distance between you and the front car can be covered in one second at the current speed, this distance will be considered too close. Of course, this distance assessment will only be activated when the vehicle speed is greater than 50 mph. Congestion or low-speed following will not be considered as following too closely.
To pass the test, you must control the distance with the front car and use regenerative braking to stop your vehicle. If you accidentally “slightly” press the brake pedal, then, unfortunately, you will lose points; if your turning speed exceeds the speed limit, you will also lose points; if you follow the car in front too closely, you will also lose points.
The system will keep the scores of the past 30 days and generate a final score based on them.
So, what score do you need to pass the test?
According to the relevant data, about 1000 people passed the test with full marks, and the driving scores of 60,000 people who passed the test are 98 points or above.
Therefore, the full score of this test is 100 points, and as of now, the passing line for this test is 98 points.
So, we cannot blame those 90,000 car owners for being “poor students”, it’s just that Tesla’s test standard is too difficult.
However, it is said that the passing line will soon be lowered to 97 points.
According to Tesla’s logic, the requirements for activating FSD will be dynamically adjusted along with the development of FSD. The more mature FSD performs, the lower the activation requirements will be.
One successful test does not guarantee future success
Do you think everything will be fine once you pass the test? Ahem, you are thinking too much.
During the use of FSD beta, when the system detects improper use by the driver, FSD will force shutdown. Also, each user only has 5 chances to forcibly turn off the Autopilot. Otherwise, Tesla will cancel the eligibility to use FSD.
The following three improper operations will cause FSD beta to force shutdown.
- Overspeeding. The maximum speed of FSD is 80 mph. If you forcefully step on the accelerator to increase the speed, FSD will shut down forcefully.
- Taking both hands off the steering wheel. Tesla determines whether the driver is holding the steering wheel by detecting the torque applied by the driver on the steering wheel. If you take both hands off the steering wheel for more than 3 minutes, FSD will also shut down forcibly.
- Distracted attention. There is a camera below the rearview mirror in the car to monitor the driver’s status. If you stare at the screen to the right or look down at the phone for more than 20 seconds, the vehicle will sound an audible and visual warning. If the driver continues to maintain this state, FSD will also shut down forcibly.
Love and WorryCurrently, the FSD beta has been updated to version V10.10, which includes many improvements compared to previous minor versions.
First of all, the automatic steering function of FSD beta has more applications. In previous versions, the automatic steering function of FSD beta could only be activated on clearly marked roads. However, in the latest version, the automatic steering function can now be used on any road, including tight and small radius turns.
Secondly, after implementing full steering vision recognition, FSD has become more accurate in recognizing traffic lights and lanes.
In previous versions, FSD automatically applied the brakes when it detected a vehicle passing through the forward path, even if the car is far away and has already passed when the FSD vehicle reaches there. In the latest version, this issue has been resolved.
Moreover, FSD now avoids obstacles on the forward path while ensuring safety. FSD’s driving style has become more human-like.
There is praise, but also criticism.
Tesla has always had the problem of “phantom brakes“: the car automatically applies the brakes when there are no obstacles ahead on empty roads.
Image
In the latest version of FSD, this problem has not only not been resolved, but has become even more serious. This raises the question whether this issue is related to Tesla’s decision to cancel sensors such as radar and use a full visual perception solution.
But overall, the evolution direction of FSD beta is still amazing and commendable.
On various social media platforms, we constantly see FSD beta V10.10 driving through congested cities, crossing extremely narrow and winding ramps, and other complex road conditions. Some of these scenarios even require experienced drivers to get out of the car to judge the surrounding environment before making the next decision. FSD beta handles these situations very safely and robustly with a pure visual perception solution.
And the good news that should really be told to Mr. Chang is that FSD beta has started testing in Canada. Since FSD beta has stepped outside the United States, rounding up, it is already on the threshold of the Chinese market.
I can already picture in my mind the scene where “Mr. Chang praises FSD as being advanced.”
Even, I have come up with a new topic – “FSD helps Mr. Chang solve the daily 90 km commute challenge with ease”.
Hmm, work makes me happy.
This article is a translation by ChatGPT of a Chinese report from 42HOW. If you have any questions about it, please email bd@42how.com.