No. The Tesla webpage and in-car guidance are clear on what you can expect from this feature and how the driver is expected to be paying attention. The car will also sense when you are not paying attention and take measures accordingly.
So Romeo would, were he not Romeo call'd,
Retain that dear perfection which he owes
But “full self driving” is on another level entirely. There’s no ambiguity on what that should mean. Full. Self. Driving. Tesla’s actions here are clearly criminally misleading here to any functioning justice system.
So which is it? Should buying decisions be political or not?
I personally wouldn't buy a Tesla for many individual reasons (terrible quality, not valuing safety, racist work environments, Musk's behavior), but just the terrible quality would be enough for me. I don't want a car that's in the shop all the time.
Tesla has become a vanity project operated by an emotionally unhealthy, power seeking narcissist who will chase attention and validation for the foreseeable future. It is not a critical component to global electrification. China will do all the heavy lifting (as of this comment, ~60% of Chinese auto sales are electric [largest auto market globally], and ~29% globally for 2026; exports are currently ~12M/year run rate, constrained by marine shipping capacity). Buy from Tesla, don’t buy from Tesla, doesn’t matter.
IEA Expects Electric Vehicles to Account for 29% of Global Car Sales in 2026 - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49970471 - October 2026
China growth straining global auto shipping capacity - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49553327 - September 2026
https://www.iea.org/reports/global-ev-outlook-2026/executive...
As my kids say, “You don’t buy from people who lie to you.”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_predictions_for_autono...
(disclosure: I own several Teslas purchased 2018-2022, fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me, sometimes we believe and trust the wrong people, we win or we learn)
Tesla was always an option on batteries improving at roughly the widely forecasted rates. This is the same information that the established automakers used to not focus on electric vehicles.
In other words, they're not really "autonomous". And they don't operate at night --- probably not in bad weather either --- or when communications are unavailable.
"Tesla is the only autonomous vehicle company in the United States that permits its remote operators to directly steer, accelerate, and brake vehicles on public roads."
https://tesorb.com/tesla-robotaxi-remote-operations-teleoper...
I'd take it over any German car in a heartbeat.
Do I despair that terrible people exist longer than they should? Yes. Do I take comfort that death comes for everyone as the great equalizer? Also yes. “It is what it is.” With time and age comes wisdom, imho. We are simply scholars and observers on the timeline, exist accordingly.
(TLDR I ain’t mad, I’m just disappointed)
I don’t need to be able to own it, I need it to work and be safe. Let those who use FSD own the consequences of system failure. They’ll learn eventually. You’re never going to talk cultists out of their cult of personality, imho.
If you think I’m wrong, let me put you in the path of a Tesla at speed at night with low contrast. Best case, I’m wrong. I’m fine being wrong. There is no shame in being wrong, only in ignoring facts and data. Worst case, you’re dead and no one cares. I don’t want this for you, and you shouldn’t want this for you either.
Do you feel lucky? You can supply the Tesla or I can (I have a Model S, X, and Y, all upgraded to the latest self driving hardware). If you’re a believer, I’ll give you the opportunity to put your faith in your savior. Again, I do not recommend, but I believe in free will.
Musk admits Tesla’s robotaxis still struggle to see at night - https://www.automotiveworld.com/news/musk-admits-teslas-robo... - October 5th, 2026
Waymo CEO: camera-only autonomy is “vastly” inferior - https://www.automotiveworld.com/news/waymo-ceo-camera-only-a... - August 5th, 2026
At only $100 per month on a $40k vehicle, I consider it to be a serious product and not just a parlor trick, since no other car seller comes close to offering it anywhere near that price.
If you don’t believe in it, just say “I’m going to advocate for it because of my belief system and feelings but I don’t trust it myself.” That’s far more intellectually honest then “I believe in it enough to aggressively defend it publicly but won’t stand in front of the car because I don’t actually trust it.”
You can still be right that Tesla vision only system are more dangerous, but your experimental challenge proves nothing because the cars are already live driving in the real world under poor conditions.