Tesla's FSD Beta Put Through Student Driving Test: Pass Or Fail?

Should Tesla's FSD Beta testers have a sticker on their car that says "student driver" or "autonomous car training"?

tesla fsd beta student driving test

Steven Loveday

By: Steven Loveday

Nov 19, 2021 at 9:49am ET

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Ever since we saw the first few Tesla Full Self-Driving Beta testing videos, we pointed out that it made us feel like we felt when we sat in the passenger seat and helped our teens learn to drive on their permit.

Interestingly, Courtesy Driving School in Michigan, one of the driving schools we've actually used in the past for our kids, sent us the video above. To say that it's by far the most telling Tesla FSD Beta video to date may be a stretch, but there's certainly nothing quite like it.

A driving instructor from the school got the opportunity to sit in the passenger seat while an FSD Beta tester assisted the Tesla with the FSD Beta technology. YouTube channel Charging Chats writes:

"Ahhh FSD beta 10.4 takes road test!! You think it passed?! How about we make a deal - if FSD Beta 10.4 can pass a road test then all you NHTSA folk and government officials have to drop all your cases! And if it doesn't you, you still have to drop them because Beta is amazing lol!"

Jokes aside, this is really pretty neat if you think about it. Some people are complaining that they didn't "opt-in" to Tesla's beta program, and their lives may be at stake as Tesla owners take to the roadways with unfinished technology. However, the same argument could be made about student drivers. They drive slow and erratically, they irritate other drivers, and they typically aren't ready to leave the parking lot and mix into traffic, but we allow it.

Why do we allow student drivers to practice on public roads? It's the only way for a student driver to get a real idea of what driving is like. If they only practiced in parking lots or on a closed track, it would be pretty scary once they got their licenses and hit the real road. The same thing can be said about Tesla's FSD Beta. The automaker believes the only way to truly solve autonomous driving is to actually "practice" on real roads with real traffic and real corner cases.

According to Courtesy Driving School, on the Michigan driving skills test, you can get up to 25 points off and still pass. The instructor goes over the scoring system and explains which actions result in a loss of points. Can Tesla's FSD Beta system pass?

Charging Chats provided the following chapters and timestamps to navigate through the video.

What do you think?

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0:00 - Intro
0:08 - Nerves about Road Test
2:44 - Road Test Explained
7:00 - Basic Control Skills Test/ Parking Lot
17:26 - On-Street Driving Test
38:12 - The Moment We've All Been Waiting For

While we won't spoil it for you, you can easily jump around the video to find the information you want. Before you check out the video, scroll down to the comments and let us know if you think Tesla's FSD Beta technology passes or fails.

See More Tesla Full Self-Driving Beta Coverage:

Watch Tesla FSD Beta Version 10.4 Testing In Downtown Detroit