Can Tesla’s FSD Perform Well In Parking Garages?
“Everyone freaks out at this parking garage ramp…but let’s see how FSD handles it.”
A Tesla Model Y owner documented how deft his EV was at navigating a parking garage with Full Self-Driving (FSD) enabled. TikTok user Shy (@theshyvlog) posted the clip online as a testament to the efficacy of the EV manufacturer’s FSD software, even in a garage with particularly narrow spaces.
Shy begins his video by recording himself in the driver’s seat of a Tesla with FSD toggled on. In a caption for his post, he sets the thesis for his experiment: how FSD tackles a parking garage ramp he says has been a problem for numerous drivers. “Everyone freaks out at this parking garage ramp…but let’s see how FSD handles it,” he writes in a text overlay of his clip.
As the video progresses, it appears the vehicle is able to handle the upward curvature of the parking garage’s layout with ease. “On the way to the 4th floor…no human steering,” another on-screen caption reads. As the Tesla continues to travel through the parking garage, its steering wheel can be seen automatically adjusting itself to avoid the side wall and progress through the parking garage.
Difficulties other drivers have had with the structure’s design weren’t lost on Shy, either. At around the 20-second mark of the video he writes, “Look at those wall scrapes,” pointing out paint scrapes that have been left behind by less-fortunate drivers. “I got nervous here. These walls have stories.”
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Following this, the Tesla can be seen driving in a single lane between two concrete dividers. It’s a strip of pavement that would make claustrophobic drivers queasy at the thought of potentially scraping side mirrors, but the Tesla’s FSD gets through this point without incident.
When Shy reaches a more expansive parking area, he disengages FSD and pilots the car in front of a designated spot. He puts the vehicle into reverse, then lines it up with a spot to back into. After starting the EV’s Autopark functionality, the Tesla’s steering wheel begins to turn on its own, just like it did with FSD engaged. Following this, the car is safely nestled in its parking spot and comes to a complete stop. “Let’s go shopping,” Shy writes in a final text overlay before his clip ends.
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Tesla Parking Garage Accidents
Shy’s video showcases a perfect execution of Tesla’s FSD inside a parking garage. However, other incidents involving Teslas and car parks have ended in disaster. In August 2023, the Montgomery County Police Reporter wrote that two people were killed in a garage in The Woodlands, Texas, after a fast-moving Tesla crashed into a concrete wall. It’s unclear whether FSD was engaged in this incident.
In a December 2024 multi-car accident in Sydney, Australia, a Model S slammed into several vehicles before ultimately driving through a barricade on the upper level of a rooftop garage and crashing down to a lower level. The incident resulted in no serious injuries but severe damage to the vehicle, including one of its tires being torn from its chassis. Reports indicate that the Model S was being inspected for potential electronic failures but again do not say whether FSD was engaged during the incident.
And in a March 27 Facebook post, a user called out a Tesla driver attempting to summon their vehicle in a Florida Publix for nearly causing a “head on collision.” Furthermore, they stated that after almost crashing, the car ended up being “stuck in place,” creating a frustrating situation for others attempting to move in and out of the garage. The situation echoed a 2024 incident in Maryland where a Model Y scraped the back of a parked car in a mall parking lot after its user had activated the EV’s Summon functionality. The woman whose car was hit said the driverless vehicle kept moving after impact.
Praise for FSD
However, numerous Tesla drivers including Shy have showcased FSD’s acumen in navigating parking garages. A video from YouTube account Gear Musk showed a Tesla with the software’s v13 iteration “masterfully” maneuvering through a parking garage. Anecdotes from the TeslaFSD subreddit also commended FSD’s functionality in parking garages. Another YouTube account, Total Tesla, recorded a venture into a busy mall parking lot, showing the car locating and backing into a spot without input from the driver. In another portion of the clip, the user recorded FSD at work inside a parking garage. The car drives itself out of a parking spot and then works its way through the structure, performing a variety of turns without incident before arriving outside.
Tesla writes that its Autopilot and FSD features do come with “Limitations and Warnings.” The automaker stipulates in the Model 3 owner’s manual that FSD must be supervised: “Always remember that Full Self-Driving (Supervised) (also known as Autosteer on City Streets) does not make Model 3 autonomous and requires a fully attentive driver who is ready to take immediate action at all times.”
InsideEVs has reached out to Shy via Instagram DM for further comment.
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