Latest news with #TeslaModel3Performance
Business Insider
5 days ago
- Automotive
- Business Insider
My Tesla FSD diary: 5 months of curiosity, amazement, shock, and embarrassment
When I picked up my new Tesla Model 3 Performance in December, it came with a free trial of the company's Full Self-Driving (FSD) software. I originally made the purchase to enjoy driving a fast sports car. But I've also been fascinated by the promise of autonomous vehicles ever since I experienced Google's early driverless technology as a reporter at The Wall Street Journal over a decade ago. So, for the past five months, I've been using FSD (in "Chill" mode only) to see what it can and can't do. I still drive the car. Legally, functionally, and by necessity. Tesla calls this software Full Self-Driving, but it's really an advanced driver-assistance system. Every moment it's engaged, I am still the driver, and Tesla makes that very clear when you're in the car in FSD mode. The company is planning to launch a robotaxi service in Austin in June. That will come with fully autonomous software that requires no supervision. However, the reason for this diary is to give you a sense of what Tesla's latest and greatest published driving software is capable of right now. Here are my observations, feelings, and takeaways from driving more than 1,000 miles in FSD around Silicon Valley and beyond. I also shared this diary with Bryant Walker Smith, a lawyer who focuses on mobility, driver-assistance, and autonomous-vehicle technology. I've included some of his context and thoughts throughout. I also shared my diary with Tesla's press office and CEO Elon Musk via email on Wednesday. They didn't respond. More relaxing, especially in traffic Let's get this out of the way first: This is one of the best cars I've ever driven. On and off for over 20 years, I have test-driven cars from Hummers to Porsches to Alfa Romeos. The Model 3 Performance has incredible steering, high build quality, and incredible speed, for a lot less money than a BMW M4. It's a great deal and I love it. In early January, switching on FSD was a surprise at first. It handled way more situations than I expected — basically everything on most trips. Driving in traffic, with a destination punched into Tesla's onboard screen, is less stressful than handling stop-and-go congestion yourself and trying to decide which turn to take next. It's a new, slightly more relaxing experience. I get to my destination in a better mood. Tesla FSD always comes to a full stop at stop signs. Obviously, I do too. But maybe I don't? This was annoying at first, but now I don't notice, and it's safer. I thought I would lose time, but really, there's no difference. What started as an irritation became a reminder of how easily humans normalize cutting corners when driving themselves. The FSD is a more efficient driver. It uses less battery power than I do driving the car. I know this because I look at the onboard map, which predicts the battery level upon arrival. Once I switch to FSD, that prediction drops and stays lower once I arrive. Potholes and disengagements Pothole avoidance, please! My Tesla in FSD drives straight over most potholes on the road. I try to (carefully!) avoid them while driving myself. Is this why some Tesla owners say they have to replace their tires so often? I disengaged FSD in San Francisco a few months ago. There was a car parked on the side of a thin side road. I knew I could squeeze around it, but Tesla FSD just sat there. So I took over, drove around, and then restarted FSD. I disengaged another time on Highway 80, going from Silicon Valley to Lake Tahoe with my wife. We were in FSD (Chill mode) in the slow lane. Traffic built up ahead, and the faster lanes started backing up. Another car darted into our lane, right in front of us. We screamed, and I grabbed the wheel. Maybe FSD would have handled it, but I wasn't willing to find out. Speaking of lanes: In Chill mode, FSD stays in the slow lane, and it's slow to move across when a highway intersection is approaching. This gets me stuck behind cars merging onto the highway. When I drive myself, I get over into the outside lanes before this stuff happens. I know a few blocks in advance that something is going to get snarled, so I adjust early. Tesla FSD doesn't do that in Chill mode. So, we have to slow down and get into complex merge situations. I suspect being in other FSD modes, such as "Hurry" mode, would mean my Tesla drives in the faster, outer lanes of the highway. A test and a change of heart I was impressed during the first two to three months of using FSD. When my free trial ended in June, I thought I would probably start paying $99 a month for this technology. And I don't even drive that much. I bought this car to drive a fast sports car. Now, I barely drive it. That paragraph above was the thrust of the story I planned to write earlier this year. Then, my colleague Lloyd Lee and I tested Tesla FSD against Waymo in San Francisco on May 1. You can read all about that here. TLDR: We ran a red light while in my Tesla's FSD mode. Waymo refused to go that specific route, suggesting that Waymo's software system can't handle that specific intersection either. However, I was shocked by the experience. Walker Smith says there's "a huge difference between running a red light at an intersection and proactively avoiding the intersection." An uncomfortable U-turn About two weeks after that aforementioned test, I was driving in FSD mode with a friend on Highway 280 north toward San Francisco on a sunny and clear day. Traffic built up ahead, so my Tesla pulled off on an exit lane. The onboard map showed that the car planned to wait by a traffic light and then go straight ahead — basically getting back on the highway to try to overtake a few other cars stuck in traffic. Similar to what the Waze app sometimes has drivers do. Once the light turned green, my Tesla turned left under the highway instead, even though the Tesla map showed that we should have gone straight. Then it did a U-turn at a slightly uncomfortable speed (a little too fast, I felt). The worst part was that it did this U-turn from the outside lane on a multi-lane road rather than the designated left-turn lane. And it did this maneuver in front of several traffic police who were attending to a minor incident about 70 feet away. Luckily, there were no cars in the left lane, which was the correct lane from which to do a U-turn or to just turn left. If there had been a car trying to turn left at that moment, we might have crashed into it. I'm not 100% sure of this, but that's my feeling. There was a risk of this happening. After doing the U-turn, the FSD system was going to try to turn left again, taking us, finally, back on Highway 280 north. But again, it was trying to turn from the center lane, not the left turn lane. I disengaged at this point and took over the driving. My friend turned to me in shock. I blushed, which was a strange experience. It was as if I were embarrassed by my car. "Your U-turn examples are new to me," Walker Smith said. "They are wild!" "It's possible that, if another vehicle had been in the left-most lane, then your Tesla would not have attempted a turn," he added. "But it's also possible that it would have." To FSD or not to FSD More recently, about 2 weeks ago, I was in FSD "Chill" mode in San Francisco, driving toward Ocean Beach. The car was on a two-lane road, and the Tesla map showed that it was supposed to pull into a left turn lane in the center of this road. The idea being that we would wait for oncoming traffic to clear and then turn left across the two lanes going the other way. The car put the left indicator on, but didn't go into the left turn lane. I disengaged and pulled gently into the correct lane myself. I still switch FSD on a lot, in "Chill" mode. On Tuesday, for instance, I drove on Highway 101 north to work from one of our WeWork office locations. This trip, and the return journey home, were uneventful and less stressful than driving myself in highway traffic. My FSD free trial ends in June. I'm now less likely to pay $99 a month for this technology. However, when I'm expecting to drive a lot during a particular period, I might pay for it occasionally. The key difference The final words should go to Walker Smith. Having read my diary, he made a crucial point. "Your (and every) version of so-called 'FSD' is merely a driver-assistance system," he told me. "Accordingly, it only works unless and until it doesn't. That's why you have to supervise — indeed, why you are still the driver who is driving." This may seem like quibbling over slight language tweaks. But there's a giant gap between "driver-assistance" systems that still need human supervision and fully autonomous technology that does not have anyone behind the wheel. Walker Smith slapped me on the wrist for writing in my original diary that "I barely drive it." He described this as "a fundamental misunderstanding and misrepresentation of driver-assistance systems." (He also thinks BI should correct the wording of our San Francisco Waymo vs Tesla test story. I checked with my editor, who said no.) Walker Smith described the difference between driver-assistance and automated driving as "climbing a 500-foot cliff with a rope or free-soloing it." Or, the difference between hearing a pilot on a plane say "Hi folks, today we'll be using autopilot" and hearing the pilot say "Hi folks, today you'll be using autopilot because I'm getting off the plane." FSD is an incredible piece of software, until it's not. When it works, it feels like the future. When it doesn't, it reminds you we're not there yet.
AsiaOne
10-05-2025
- Automotive
- AsiaOne
Tesla Model 3 Performance review: The ultimate Tesla for the performance freak, Lifestyle News
It wasn't very long ago that the automotive social media space was awash with videos and reports of powerful Teslas demonstrating supercar levels of acceleration and performance. It made for an interesting spectacle, especially in an era where electric vehicles (EVs) were just bursting onto the scene, and a seemingly regular-looking car doing insane speeds was quite the novelty. But these days it's not difficult to find an EV, especially one from the large number of Chinese carmakers now penetrating the market, capable of achieving the same feat. Having an EV go from 0-100km/h in under four seconds is not exactly the extraordinary achievement it was before. [[nid:716880]] Viewed in that context, what relevance does the updated Tesla Model 3 Performance, the most powerful Model 3 you can currently buy in Singapore, still offer to drivers here? What's the big deal with the Model 3 Performance? Let's get the stats and figures out of the way first. The Model 3 Performance's dual motors put out a total of 618hp and 730Nm of torque. That's a significant bump from the 506hp and 660Nm of the pre-facelift Model 3 Performance that first debuted here in 2021, and certainly many times more than the Cat A-eligible Model 3 that we tested last year. As such, the latest Performance is able to go from 0 to 100km/h in a blistering 3.1 seconds, a figure which would easily embarrass a Ferrari given the right conditions. How does that feel like though? It's a sensation that can be hard to describe in mere mortal words, and would probably involve superlatives and even some expletives. There are three settings for the throttle response: Standard, Chill and Insane, and they are pretty much self-explanatory. Trigger the last one, find an empty stretch of straight road, and experience yourself get shot forward like you've been blasted out of a cannon. It's a thrilling ride for sure, but for those who are unaccustomed to that sort of speed, it can also feel a bit discomforting. The feeling is somewhat akin to a roller-coaster ride: exciting for some, nausea-inducing for others. If you could take it though, the sensation is absolutely exhilarating, and perhaps even mildly addictive. Other than speed, what else is good about the Model 3 Performance? Truth be told, the Model 3 is actually quite an enjoyable EV to drive. And given that this is supposedly meant to be a sportier variant, the Model 3 Performance does get a few extra bits to sharpen its drive even further. Without trying to get too technical, some of the upgrades on the Model 3 Performance include more powerful brakes, grippier sports tyres, firmer suspension, adaptive dampers, and selectable drive modes that can distribute power between the wheels as you see fit. The car drives pretty well on its own, but it absolutely sparkles when you put it into Sport mode. The chassis is remarkably balanced, and it feels very controllable and extremely planted as you chuck it into the corners, unfazed by whatever you throw at it. At the same time, it manages to combine that with a well-sorted ride that is comfortable enough for daily use. Perhaps the only minor complaint is the car's relatively dull steering, but otherwise, the Model 3 Performance's breadth of ability is nothing short of sensational. There is also a hardcore Track mode that lets you individually select settings like the amount of power sent to each wheel, and how intense you want the stability control to be. Let's just say that this mode should be best left to the experts in a controlled driving environment. Anything else? There are a few cosmetic upgrades, such as the mildly reprofiled front and rear bumpers, a small rear spoiler, cool-looking 20-inch alloy wheels, a 10mm reduction in ride height, and an odd-looking badge on the boot lid that looks like the Union Jack on steroids. Other than that though, the rest of the car is much the same as any other Model 3 really. It's the same on the inside. Aside from the sports seats, the cabin is virtually indistinguishable from regular Model 3s. That means you get the same 15.4-inch central touchscreen which functions as the main control centre for everything, and a minimalist dashboard design that lacks physical controls. The merits of such a design will always a debatable topic, but the fact that Tesla is moving to reintroduce a physical indicator stalk for the upcoming new Model Y is a sign that there has been enough pushback from customers for them to reconsider some of their design choices. So, is it worth my time? Teslas will always be polarising cars for many reasons. But if you are able to view them objectively, the Model 3 Performance does offer excellent value considering what you get. For $256,054 including COE (as of May 2025), you get an EV that can blitz past sports car many times its price tag, while also being entertaining to drive at the same time. Sure, there remain some flaws, such as the ergonomically odd interior, but if you can look past that, then the Tesla Model 3 Performance demonstrates that it has so much more depth than simply being a car that attracts social media clout. [[nid:692598]] No part of this article can be reproduced without permission from AsiaOne.
Time of India
03-05-2025
- Automotive
- Time of India
Planning to buy a car? These brands are safest from tariffs and these could cost you a bomb as new auto tariffs go into effect
5 Cars That Are Safest From Tariffs — And 5 Getting Hit the Hardest- As President Donald Trump takes steps to ease tariffs on auto imports in 2025, some vehicles are getting a bit of breathing room — but many cars are still vulnerable to price hikes. For American drivers, this means costs are still climbing, especially for models heavily dependent on foreign parts. #Pahalgam Terrorist Attack Code of war: India and Pakistan take their battle to the (web)front Forex reserves show a pauperised Pakistan, a prospering India Pakistan conducts training launch of surface-to surface ballistic missile Which cars are the safest from auto tariffs in 2025? When it comes to surviving tariff shocks, domestically produced cars with high U.S.-made content are faring the best . According to Motor1, which recently ranked vehicles based on the percentage of American parts and manufacturing, Tesla leads the way . Here's a look at the top 5 vehicles that are safest from tariffs: by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Conocoto Modular Homes: See Prices Mobile Homes | Search ads Undo Tesla Model 3 Performance – 87.5% domestic content Tesla Model Y – 85% domestic content Tesla Cybertruck – 82.5% domestic content Tesla Model S – 80% domestic content Tesla Model X – 80% domestic content Tesla's strong domestic production puts it in a favorable spot. As Usha Haley, Barton Distinguished Chair at Wichita State University, told Quartz , 'Tesla will be among the least affected.' These cars are built largely in the U.S., keeping them out of the tariff crosshairs — for now. Also ranking well are Ford's Mustang GT AT, at 80% U.S. content, and Volkswagen's ID.4 AWD (82 kWh), which hits 75.5%. Live Events What makes some cars more vulnerable to tariffs? The biggest losers in this tariff shakeup are cars built with mostly foreign parts, and there are plenty of them. Models that rely heavily on overseas supply chains are getting hit the hardest by the new tariff rules. According to Motor1 data, here are five cars most impacted by tariffs due to their low U.S. production share: Hyundai Elantra – 1% domestic production BMW M3 Sedan – 1% Subaru BRZ – 1% Toyota GR 86 – 1% Toyota GR Corolla – 1% These vehicles are largely built abroad or depend on imported parts. That makes them more exposed to tariff-related cost hikes. Liz Hempel, partner at McKinsey & Company, explained that auto supply chains aren't easy to move. 'Switching production venues takes at least two years and billions of dollars,' she said. 'Tariffs, which hit overnight, only add to the complexity.' Are prices already going up — and by how much? Yes, prices are rising — and quickly. Even with Trump's easing of tariffs, car prices have jumped since the announcement. Kevin Roberts, director at CarGurus, told Quartz that: The average new car price is up $650 Used car prices climbed $150 This surge is largely driven by a rush of demand in March, as buyers hurried to beat potential increases. 'The impact has been most pronounced in the affordable segment,' Roberts noted, especially for cars under $50,000. George Faracchio, VP at AutoLenders, added that current inventory has softened the initial blow — but that won't last long. 'As we move deeper into the spring and summer months, if tariffs remain in place… we expect prices to climb steadily,' he said. What does this mean for the rest of 2025 car sales? If you're thinking about buying a car this year, you might want to act sooner rather than later. John Lash, group VP at e2open, says the March buying surge was no surprise. 'With budgets tight, many consumers decided it was smarter to buy now than risk paying more later,' he said. But that jump might be short-lived. Lash predicts a steep drop in sales ahead. 'After this brief jump, we should get ready for a long and extended drop in new car sales,' he said, unless tariff policies shift again. Why this matters for U.S. car buyers The 2025 automotive tariff story is more than politics — it's already changing what people pay for cars. Whether you're buying new or used, or even just watching the market, knowing which cars are safer from tariffs can help you make a better decision. Cars like Tesla's Model 3 or Ford's Mustang GT are better positioned to avoid steep price hikes, while imports like the Hyundai Elantra or Toyota GR 86 could come with a much bigger price tag in the months ahead. And as experts across the board agree: these changes aren't going away soon. So if your old car is on its last legs, now might be the best time to shop before prices climb further. FAQs: Q1: Which cars are least affected by the 2025 automotive tariffs ? Cars with high U.S.-made parts like Tesla models and Ford Mustang GT. Q2: Why are car prices going up despite tariff relief in 2025? Because most cars still rely on imported parts, raising overall production costs.
