2023 Tesla Model Y Yearlong Review: Why I Quit Using Tesla FSD (2025)

The timing couldn’t have been more serendipitous. On the same day our story detailing the inadequacies of Tesla’s Full Self-Driving (FSD) system published, FSD committed an error more egregious and alarming than any of its errors before.

That's really saying something, and that was the last straw—after it happened, I deactivated the feature we paid $15,000 for (it’s $8,000 today) in MotorTrend’s long-term review 2023 Model Y. After using it regularly for nearly a year, I won’t use FSD again.

Tesla FSD Cannot Be Trusted

What made this error untenable is that it occurred under a very recent FSD software version (specifically, version 13.2.2). Worse, it wasn't in some sort of complex traffic situation or navigation maneuver, but in perhaps the simplest road conditions imaginable.

Here’s what happened: At about 20 minutes past sunset, I was cruising with FSD at 55 mph on a rural two-lane road. The road was completely straight, with no nearby adjoining roads and no other vehicles, people, or notable features visible. Suddenly, FSD veered sharply left into the oncoming lane of traffic.

I cannot put it more succinctly: FSD abruptly steered across solid double yellow lane lines onto the wrong side of the road.

There was no turn signal or other warning. I grabbed the steering wheel and yanked the Model Y back, disengaging FSD. Heart racing, I pulled over, parked the car, and turned off FSD from the touchscreen. That was it—I'd given FSD so many chances, and that was the final one. After gathering myself I resumed driving manually, wondering what the hell had just happened.

If I could fantasize a justification, perhaps Tesla’s camera-only perception system (ours being the newest Hardware 4) got confused by a tire skid mark that crossed diagonally over the lane lines—a frighteningly ordinary reason for such a potentially dangerous mistake. Had another car been approaching, would FSD have driven me into a head-on collision? I can’t say, because in the thousands of miles MotorTrend has collectively used FSD, the only predictable thing about it is its unpredictability.

How bizarre to think that an automaker promotes and sells a feature prone to such wildly erratic operation—and this isn't like automatic climate control that suddenly starts blowing too hard, but a system that purports an ability to drive itself almost anywhere, anytime. Remember, FSD is the fundamental software that will make Tesla’s supposedly upcoming Robotaxi fleet service function. Given these vehicles intentionally lack a steering wheel or pedals, it remains unclear what a passenger might do when their Robotaxi’s FSD makes an error. Maybe someone will post about that on X.

The Three “I’s” of FSD Eligibility

Despite skepticism of FSD’s functionality, I still think there are certain drivers for whom using FSD would be better than driving manually. FSD’s usage is predicated on a driver’s commitment and ability to take over at any time, but given the relative frequency of FSD’s driving being merely dumb rather than dangerous, perhaps there could be a net benefit for some.

Although two of the following “I’s” are hypothetical because I’ve never been them personally, there was an instance where I found myself as one of them, and FSD was useful.

Inept: FSD could be better than people who are bad drivers—drivers that, by their own terminal lack of skill or care, present a danger to themselves and other road users. Although FSD is problematic, I wouldn’t call all of its actions reckless, unlike so many people I see out there controlling manually driven cars.

Infirm: For people who by the natural course of time and no fault of their own have a reduced ability to operate a vehicle, FSD could help. I consider my beloved 88-year-old grandmother, who tries to avoid driving because she knows she’s not as adept as she once was. But she still needs to get around, and theoretically a more robust version of FSD could be a chauffeur for her and others of her esteemed age.

Injured: After a cycling crash, I needed to get to an emergency room. With a hole in my right elbow and a sprain in my left wrist, driving manually was possible but painful. By using FSD, I was able to more comfortably travel to medical care. For people intimidated by the potentially crippling costs of ambulance services and unable to wait for someone to take them, FSD could help immediately after an injury and during the recovery process.

A Software-Defined Paradox

Now that I’m healed and doing everything in my power to not be any of those “I’s,” FSD is of negative benefit; there’s no point in putting up with its moronic and hazardous driving. It’s not like FSD was doing anything to save me time or otherwise improve my quality of life.

With how strict the driver monitoring camera is, I need to sit there and pay as much attention as if I were driving so I can remain ready to save FSD from itself, while stifling my incredulity about FSD's volatile behavior knowing I could take control and drive exactly as I desire. The mind boggles.

FSD can get better. It already has. Compared to version 12, version 13 brought a marked improvement in FSD’s driving smoothness and decision making, along with a considerable reduction of instances where I needed to intervene. But a reduction isn’t acceptable when something in the software allows it to swerve onto the wrong side of the road for no reason. Only elimination will suffice.

Trouble is, much of Tesla’s ability to iterate on FSD is based on drivers actually using FSD. The company gathers data from real-world usage to continually train the software. But being driven onto the wrong side of the road scared me off from FSD, leaving one less user for Tesla to collect data from—and potentially other users, too, if they heed my caution.

With FSD now safely deactivated, I’m using the Model Y’s standard Tesla Autopilot features—keep an eye out for a future update with assessments of how those work.

For More on Our Long-Term 2023 Tesla Model Y Long Range:

• We Bought a 2023 Tesla Model Y Long Range for a Yearlong Test
• The Supercharger Difference
• How Far Can You Tow With a Tesla?
• What Changed After the Tesla Autosteer Recall? Not Much.
• Are the Tesla Model Y’s Third-Row Seats Worth It?
• What Happens When the Model Y’s Cameras Can’t See?
• Secrets and Surprises of the Tesla Model Y
• How Was Tesla Service When We Needed a Window Replaced?
• Tesla ASS: Gimmick or Game Changer?
• How Does Tesla FSD Work?
• What It’s Like Driving a Tesla in Elon Musk’s Political Era