It’s been just over a week since Tesla finally gave beta testers the ability to use the full self-driving mode (FSD) on their vehicles in downtown Toronto and, to date, nothing horrible has happened.
Critics of the technology aren’t quite yet convinced, however, that Elon Musk’s autonomous driving software is safe for use in a city where streetcars stop frequently, bike lanes are often unprotected, and pedestrians get hit by motor vehicles nearly every day.
“On November 24th, Tesla expanded its beta test of ‘full self-driving’ software to everyone in North America,” reads a new online petition directed to Toronto City Council and Mayor John Tory.
“Just hours later, a six-car pileup on the Bay Bridge [in San Francisco] was caused by a Tesla suddenly stopping; two people were hospitalized.”
No better place than Twitter to talk about Musk’s projects crashing and burning, so: I’ve just launched a petition calling on #Toronto to end Tesla’s unsafe beta test of “full self-driving” in city limits:https://t.co/X8YCqPP9gQ
— Tim Ellis – Keep schools open by paying workers🌹 (@DJDynamicNC) November 29, 2022
That petition, entitled “Toronto: End Tesla’s nonconsensual test trials,” contends that the highly-anticipated FSD software is not market-ready. The California electric vehicle giant has nearly been forced to admit this much by releasing the technology only as a beta test.
“Toronto streets are already too dangerous for pedestrians, transit riders, cyclists, and drivers alike. Elon Musk is free to test out his ‘full self-driving’ software — but he needs to do it on closed courses, or places where people have consciously opted-in to be participants,” write the petition’s authors.
“We did not sign up to be Elon Musk’s guinea pigs. It’s time to ban Tesla’s ‘full self-driving’ until it completes the relevant beta testing and can demonstrate a safety record that actually makes our streets safer.”
With only seven signatures so far, it’s unlikely the petition itself will spark much debate at City Hall, but online chatter suggests that parties on both sides of the debate are passionate about FSD being used in the downtown core.
@Tesla FSD Beta works butter smooth Downtown Toronto @elonmusk
Weaving thru dedicated bicycles lanes & parked cars on @DowntownYonge @WholeMarsBlog @28delayslater @DriveTeslaca @heyitsyashu pic.twitter.com/ZumYgYoaLx
— Chansoo Byeon (@ByeonChansoo) November 27, 2022
Tesla started deploying its FSD Beta version 10.69.3.1 software in Canada last weekend, allowing existing testers, as well as new ones who were not previously part of the program, to go hands-free in parts of downtown Toronto that were previously restricted.
“Today in things that might not end well for Toronto pedestrians…
Tesla just lifted a geofence that, until now, prohibited drivers from using Full Self-Driving (FSD) mode in the downtown core of Canada’s biggest city.”Nope, nope, nope 😨 https://t.co/JzXwuQNoI6
— Deborah Preuss, pcc 😷 🇨🇦 (@deborahh) November 22, 2022
Some fans of the brand were thrilled to start testing out the self-driving capabilities of their vehicles (which must still be manned, for the record, when in FSD mode.)
@elonmusk FSD working nicely in Toronto interacting properly with streetcars. 🤯 pic.twitter.com/lXWZE5q4GO
— whatsupfranks (@WhatsupFranks) November 23, 2022
Some videos show cars making turns on their own, while others appear to have human assistance.
#FSD left turns in Toronto. 🔥 $TSLA pic.twitter.com/c8nbn0pRM4
— Ron NoFilterGooGoo🔥🩳🔥😳👨🏻🍼 (@RonMadison11) November 25, 2022
Other videos have sparked serious concern among viewers who note that FSD-enabled vehicles sometimes make dangerous-looking traffic maneuvers.
Tesla’s FSD in Toronto looks dangerous. It tries to drive towards parked cars/people getting in. There a numerous places where it looks to be confused by streetcar tracks/construction. It makes dangerous manouvers when turning.
Should be turned off againhttps://t.co/EGAvcI7Kf0
— Eoin O’Brien 🇺🇦 (@_eoinobrien) November 23, 2022
Even some who are fans of the technology admit that downtown Toronto had been geofenced off prior to this month for a reason.
Yesterday I had a nice conversation with a Tesla driver. When I asked him if he’d tried FSD inside Toronto yet, he said, “I wouldn’t trust it.”#BikeTO #WalkTO #VisionZero
— Dafydd Hughes (@dafydd61) November 25, 2022
“I can’t think of a worse location to launch Tesla FSD than DOWNTOWN TORONTO,” mused one Twitter user of the news.
“Saw that Tesla enabled FSD (beta) in downtown Toronto, and I was going to offer the, ‘Uh, watch out for Teslas I guess?’ commentary, but at the same time… No love lost for Elon, can Tesla FSD actually be worse at driving than Toronto motorists?” asked another.
Toronto area pedestrians & cyclists will need to be nimble to successfully dodge *self driving* Elon mobiles in addition to the usual legion of speeding F-150s. #GTA #Tesla #FSD https://t.co/rA01eY1HXW
— Edward Asensi 🇺🇦 (@EdwardAsensi) November 22, 2022
“Tesla previously forbid ‘full self-driving’ within Toronto because it would not recognize streetcars picking up or dropping off passengers,” notes the petition.
“Recent tests in October also showed that Tesla’s falsely-named ‘full self-driving’ will not recognize school busses with stop signs extended and will drive around them, even when children are crossing the street.”
Tesla has yet to respond to a request for comment from blogTO about how the software has changed to make FSD safe enough for areas of Toronto that were previously restricted due to problems with identifying streetcars.
