Gary Zhou 
Tesla’s Full Self-Driving beta is capable of driving on inner-city highways, and the advanced driver-assist system has shown some remarkable driving behaviors since its limited introduction to select participants of the company’s Early Access Program. The capacity to execute a smooth 180-degree forced turn is among these.
One of his most recent real-world experiments, which included his Model 3 navigating through a forced 180-degree turn, was recently shared by FSD beta tester James Locke. The test, which took place in Santa Clarita on Valencia Blvd, near West Ranch High School, took place one afternoon without any new software updates from the electric car manufacturer. The Model 3 was running 2020.40.8.13, and the test results were interesting.
Locke’s Model 3 appeared to have noticed the 180-degree change in its driving visualizations at the first attempt, but the vehicle did not slow down properly. This prompted Locke to take over his Model 3 as it sailed through the turn. Rather amazingly, in the second attempt of the Tesla owner at the 180-degree turn, these findings were not repeated. The Model 3 slowed down as it approached the turn in its next try, enabling it to complete the 180-degree maneuver on its own.
Granted, during its second run, the vehicle slowed down substantially. Despite this, it was still very amazing to see how the Model 3, which had just struggled a few minutes before the maneuver, completed the turn on its second attempt without needing driver interference. Perhaps more remarkable was the third attempt, with the all-electric sedan slowing down smoothly and the vehicle almost human-like gliding over the turn.
In Locke’s test, the FSD beta’s actions almost made it look like the vehicle was learning on the fly. Members of the EV community, however, noted that on-the-spot learning may not be feasible at all for Tesla’s vehicles, and that enhancements to the neural network are only applied through Tesla updates. This does seem to be the case in Locke’s recent video, as the Model 3 appeared to have detected a 55 mph speed limit in the first attempt, but not on its next.
Watch Locke’s forced 180-degree turn test with Tesla’s FSD beta on YouTube here.
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