The Driver Only Lets Go of the Wheel... "Steers Around Homeless Person, Overtakes Bus Flawlessly" [Autonomous Driving Surrendered to China]

Tesla Full Self-Driving Experience in the US
Driver Only Needs to Rest Hands on the Wheel
Tesla's Sensor-Free Autonomous Driving Technology
Achieved with Cameras, Custom-Designed Semiconductors, and AI

"There really is nothing to do."

A Tesla employee is sitting in the driver's seat of a Model Y vehicle demonstrating the Full Self-Driving (FSD) feature. Photo by Baek Jongmin, Tech Specialist

On August 19 (local time) in New Jersey, United States, a Tesla Model Y equipped with Full Self-Driving (FSD) technology drove for about 20 minutes on a congested 10-lane expressway and regular roads. Afterward, the same route was taken in a Tesla Cybertruck.

During this time, the vehicle drove itself. It changed lanes, merged into traffic, exited main roads onto ramps, and maintained the center of the lane with precision. It stopped safely at red lights and intersections. There was truly nothing for the person in the driver’s seat to do.

When a homeless person appeared ahead on the road, the vehicle automatically steered to avoid them. On a two-lane road, when a bus stopped for an extended period to let passengers off, the vehicle calmly overtook the bus by following the car in front. It yielded naturally to vehicles attempting to merge and maintained a safe distance from the car ahead.

The vehicle also monitored the driver. If the driver took their hands off the steering wheel or looked away, a warning was issued. Placing hands back on the wheel turned off the warning. After the drive, the car parked itself. The only mistake during the drive was the reporter incorrectly setting the destination.

Using the fully autonomous vehicle was simple. A store employee checked the reporter’s driver’s license and had them sign a brief document before escorting them to the parking lot. After a short explanation, the employee drove around the parking lot area while seated in the driver’s seat. Of the three autonomous driving modes, “Standard” was selected. This is the most common mode and provides sufficient performance, according to the employee.

The Full Self-Driving feature of Tesla Vision demonstrated its advanced technology by operating without sensors. While driving, it relied solely on cameras and semiconductors to steer and recognize traffic signals.

There were no LiDAR or radar sensors. After CEO Elon Musk declared that autonomous driving would be achieved using only camera footage and AI, all radar sensors were removed from the vehicles. Tesla also designs its own semiconductors for autonomous driving.

Semiconductor for autonomous driving displayed at Tesla store. Photo by Baek Jongmin Tech Specialist

The store showcased semiconductors and camera components to demonstrate its technological capabilities. Full Self-Driving is available in the United States as an additional option for purchase. Tesla is operating robotaxis utilizing autonomous driving technology in Austin, Texas. This experience is not available in South Korea.

The day before, the reporter rented an older Model Y without the FSD feature and traveled from New Jersey to IonQ, a quantum computing company in Maryland. Although the trip took ten hours, the vehicle’s standard Autopilot function was convenient. However, the FSD-equipped vehicle driven on this day was entirely different.

<Glossary>

LiDAR sensor: A sensing technology that emits lasers and measures the time it takes for the reflections to return, allowing for precise 3D mapping of the surrounding environment. While it plays a key role in object recognition and navigation in autonomous driving systems, Tesla has removed this sensor from its vehicles.

Tesla Vision: A camera-based autonomous driving system installed in Tesla vehicles. It recognizes the surrounding environment and enables autonomous driving using only camera sensors and artificial intelligence (AI) technology, without relying on other sensors like LiDAR or radar.