The realization of full self-driving: Tesla FSD's 5,000km journey A scene that anyone who drives might have imagined at least once is getting one step closer to reality: a world where cars find their own way, change lanes, read signals, and even park themselves. While this vision is not yet a complete reality, an intriguing case has emerged that offers a glimpse into its potential through Tesla's FSD (Full Self-Driving) system. Recently, a Tesla Model S, primarily utilizing the FSD system, traversed 5,000km across the American continent, drawing significant attention from the automotive industry and the tech community. This 5,000km cross-country challenge was undertaken as a personal project by Alex Roy, an individual active in the mobility sector. It must be clarified that this was not an official Tesla project. Nevertheless, this endeavor is being evaluated as a case that verified the practical performance of the Tesla FSD system under extreme conditions. Alex Roy drove the Tesla Model S for a total of 58 hours, relying on the FSD system for most of that time. He stated that, excluding approximately 10 hours for charging, the journey was completed almost entirely in autonomous driving mode. This process was by no means easy. It included not only monotonous highway driving but also complex urban sections, and notably, the vehicle had to contend with various severe weather conditions such as snow, rain, ice, and mud during a harsh winter. According to the original report, the FSD system demonstrated stable driving capabilities, autonomously changing lanes and adjusting speed even in these challenging environments. It is noteworthy that it not only interacted with surrounding vehicles but also skillfully handled unexpected road conditions. Alex Roy stated on his social media, "FSD performed excellently throughout the trip." Even more intriguing was his subsequent remark. He added, "If there had been no human in the car, I would have arrived faster," and "I felt that as autonomous vehicles advance, human intervention actually causes errors." This statement challenges conventional thinking. While autonomous driving has often been perceived as a technology that raises concerns by operating beyond human control, this presents a new perspective: that humans can actually interfere with the judgment of a well-trained system. Of course, this is a subjective assessment based on personal experience, and more data and verification are needed for it to be accepted as a universal truth. Autonomous Driving Technology Proves Itself on Real Roads This cross-country drive also holds significance in relation to Tesla CEO Elon Musk's "Tesla autonomous US cross-country" goal, first announced in 2017. Although not an official Tesla project, the original report evaluates it as "an unofficial realization [of the goal] after seven years." It can be seen as a partial demonstration that Musk's promise was not merely a marketing ploy. However, as the term 'unofficial' implies, it should be kept in mind that this was not an environment directly controlled and verified by Tesla. Industry experts analyze this success story as a potential significant turning point for the commercialization of autonomous driving technology. According to the original report, as real-world driving data continuously accumulates, the system becomes more sophisticated, which could act as a catalyst to accelerate the era of higher-level autonomous driving in the future. Tesla, for instance, adopts a method of collecting real-time data from numerous vehicles operating worldwide and utilizing it for machine learning, so this data-driven improvement cycle is expected to accelerate technological development. However, such success stories do not necessarily lead to unconditional positive acceptance. Concerns and controversies surrounding autonomous driving technology still persist. Critics still question whether autonomous driving systems can make immediate and creative judgments like humans in extreme or unpredictable situations, and whether they can make appropriate decisions in complex ethical dilemmas. It is also true that every time accident cases related to autonomous driving are reported, questions about the technology's safety and reliability are raised. As a technology that deals with human lives, a very high level of safety and reliability is required, and this is not satisfied merely by the fact that it works well in most cases. As autonomous driving technology advances, ethical and legal issues are also becoming more complex. For example, if an autonomous vehicle causes an accident, who is responsible? The manufacturer, the vehicle owner, or the engineer who designed the system? What choices should an autonomous driving system make in an unavoidable accident situation? These questions become more urgent to answer as the technology approaches the commercialization stage. Experts point out that "if regulations, systems, and social consensus do not evolve al
Related Articles