Tesla’s FSD v12 technology ‘is stunningly good, but not useful today’: analyst

Tesla’s Full Self-Driving (FSD) version 12 (v12) technology is “stunningly good, but not useful today,” a Truist Securities analyst said in a recent report.

Despite CEO Elon Musk’s strong promotion of the system, the analyst found that FSD still falls short of delivering on the promise of autonomous driving.

In a recent test of FSD v12.5, conducted under optimal weather conditions, the investment bank observed that while the system demonstrated more human-like behavior in path planning and execution, it struggled with basic driving scenarios.

One critical failure occurred when FSD made a left turn from a non-turn lane through a red light, a move the analyst described as a “fast fail.” Another significant issue arose when the system placed the car in the middle of two lanes on a twisty road, forcing the driver to intervene.

These findings led Truist to conclude that, despite some improvements in smoother acceleration, deceleration, and lane changes, Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:) FSD is still far from achieving the reliability required for fully autonomous driving.

More specifically, the analyst emphasizes that the technology, in its current state, does not “solve autonomy” as Musk has claimed, “or appear to approach RoboTaxi capabilities.”

“In fact, my 16-year-old son came away “terrified,” he added. I wasn’t so sure. FSD did not cause an accident or necessarily require an intervention. I could envision TSLA describing these moves as more human-like and less robotic than earlier systems, and therefore better suited to real-world driving conditions.”

“It seems especially true if FSD were trained by NYC taxi drivers. We remain befuddled as to what TSLA might introduce in its planned RoboTaxi event in October.”

On a more positive note, the analysts did observe some improvements in FSD v12.5.

They noted that the path planning and execution were less artificial and more human-like, with smoother acceleration, deceleration, lane changes, and lane positioning. This marked a significant improvement over previous versions, which had exhibited more jerky and robotic behavior.

Despite concerns about FSD, Truist analysts continue to argue that Tesla’s AI efforts remain significant to the stock, including at the current price levels.