The man tested the Tesla autopilot in Brooklyn: he had mixed impressions

Matt McFarland decided to test drive the advertised Tesla with autopilot. I decided to take a ride around Brooklyn. And then he shared his impressions of the automatic control of the vaunted car, writes Edition. Next - from the first person.

When a dozen small children crossed the road in front of our self-driving Tesla, I had good reason to be nervous. In the morning I was in the back seat of the Model 3 using autopilot. This system, which, according to its manufacturers, will change the world by making autonomous vehicles safe and reliable. I watched as the software almost crashed into a construction site, tried to swerve into a stopped truck and into the oncoming lane of the road. Angry drivers honked when the system hesitated, sometimes right in the middle of an intersection. (During all of our tests, an attentive human driver was behind the wheel to take full control of the situation if necessary.)

On the subject: Tesla with a strange device on the trunk led to a commotion in Queens

The Model 3 autopilot required human intervention to protect us and everyone else on the road. Sometimes we had to hit the brakes to turn off the software that was trying to go around the car in front of us. In other cases, the steering wheel was quickly turned to avoid an accident. Tesla advises drivers to pay constant attention to the road and be ready to act immediately.

I hoped that the machine would no longer make stupid mistakes. The children crossed the road. I exhaled.
We were ready to make our move. At first the car seemed too hesitant, but then I noticed a cyclist approaching from our left. We waited. As soon as the cyclist crossed the intersection, the car stopped and turned smoothly.

Over the past year, I've watched over a hundred videos of Tesla owners using autopilot technology.

Autopilot is a $10 driver-assistance feature offered by Tesla

All new Teslas can use Autopilot software. However, buyers must opt ​​for an expensive add-on if they want to access this feature. Elon Musk promised that the autopilot will be able to easily deliver the car to its destination. But he doesn't. Far from it.

The owners of Tesla called this technology impressive, but at the same time flawed. One moment the car drives perfectly, and the next it almost crashes into something.

Jason Tallman, Tesla owner who documents his self-driving rides on YouTube, offered to test the autopilot on their own experience.
We asked Jason to meet us at Flatbush Avenue in Brooklyn. It is a city artery that brings thousands of cars, trucks, cyclists and pedestrians into Manhattan. Even for experienced human drivers, this can be a daunting task.

Traffic in the city is chaotic, with cars running red lights and pedestrians on almost every block. It's far from suburban areas and predictable highways around Tesla's California offices.

Brooklyn provided us with an opportunity to see just how close Tesla's autopilot software came to replacing human drivers.
At one point we were driving in the right lane of Flatbush. A construction site loomed ahead. The car continued to move forward at full speed towards a row of metal barriers.
I felt deja vu. And he remembered a video in which the Tesla owner slammed on the brakes after his car was about to crash into a construction site. But this time I was in the back seat. I instinctively raised my right arm like a Heisman Trophy, as if to defend myself against a collision.
That was the moment I wished the autopilot didn't allow me to quickly change lanes.

Autopilot sometimes makes sharp turns

The wheel starts to spin, but then shifts back before turning again in the desired direction. Staggered turns are generally not a hassle on tight suburban curves. But in a densely populated city built largely before the advent of automobiles, this is inconvenient.

At some point, the car almost crashed into us from behind after braking, which surprised me. We were constantly signaled. Expecting autopilot to navigate Brooklyn easily was like asking a student driver to take a road test they weren't ready for yet.
Some moments of comfortable driving were impressive, but in the end such a ride was more unnerving. I can't imagine regularly using autopilot in the city. I didn't want to look at the Model 3's dashboard to check speed, for example, because I couldn't take my eyes off the road.

Tesla owners regularly tell me how Autopilot makes their commute less stressful. They arrive at their destination feeling less tired. Some said they were more likely to go on long trips with autopilot.

But to me, full autonomous control felt like the opposite. I felt that I needed to be constantly on guard so that the machine did not do something wrong.
Ultimately, seeing fully autonomous driving in Brooklyn reminded me of the importance of driving finesse. Unfortunately, they are difficult to master for a car with artificial intelligence. For example, pull off slightly into an intersection on a narrow road so that you turn left and the cars behind you have a detour. The autopilot just stood still while the frustrated drivers behind us honked.

At the moment, fully autonomous driving seems more like a feature to show off to friends than a must-have feature.