Left Food Driving and Tesla Full Self-Drive

I have been taking short drives around the block using my left foot to control the accelerator and brake pedals. It is a bit awkward but with forty years of driving, I think it is definitely doable. Since I have the full self-drive demo in my new Tesla, I wanted to use that as well to make the drive easier.

Yesterday, I placed an Amazon Fresh order and drove there to pick it up. The Amazon Fresh location is about four miles or fifteen minutes away. I used the self-driving feature for most of the way there. The software did get confused near the end of the drive. From the screen display, my car thought the lane I was in was blocked and tried to signal to get around. That is not going to work on Jamboree Avenue during rush hour. Other than that, the car drove itself 90% of the way there, though haltingly at times.

On the way back home, I also let the car drive itself, but it did have some strange behavior. I also noticed that whenever I had to intervene quickly, I would use my right foot out of habit. It is almost impossible to drive with the cast, so you really have to be aware and be careful when driving with your left foot.

The middle display shows an interesting visualization of what the car is seeing traffic-wise. You also have to map your destination on the navigation screen. However, Tesla does not let you enter alternative routes, so you are stuck with the default navigation route. The car also made some questionable lane changes, totally different from what I would have done. I think it is pretty cool to see what the self-driving software can do, but I still do not think $200 per month or $12,000 is a good deal.