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PaperclipPerfector  2d ago (text post)   1790 thread views

Small-Scale Question Sunday for September 27, 2026

Do you have a dumb question that you're kind of embarrassed to ask in the main thread? Is there something you're just not sure about?

This is your opportunity to ask questions. No question too simple or too silly.

Culture war topics are accepted, and proposals for a better intro post are appreciated.

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Who here uses Tesla FSD? I finally got a Tesla after two of my friends nagged me to for years. And holy shit, the car drives itself. How does Tesla not have like 90% market share? Why are people still buying Fords and Volkswagens?

The government should be incentivizing the crap out of these. I asked Astra and it estimates the U.S. loses 0.9 QALY's per person due to vehicle accidents. We could probably reduce this by 50% at least just by rolling out FSD.

I agree that most people would be vastly better off using FSD, and I'd be better off if they did that too. However, personally, I find it to be a worse driver than me and can't stand the sensation of letting it handle things. For example, it always starts moving into a turn just a bit later than I would, takes a bad line, and every single time I have that moment of wondering whether it's going to turn at all. It always does! But not as soon as I would.

I do use it sometimes on long drives on fairly straight freeways, like I5 up and down California.

For reference, I'm an excellent driver in that I drive a ton, have a perfect safety record, and perhaps more importantly have professional training on and off the racetrack. Also the usual high IQ reaction times and 'common' sense. Very conservative, etc. So definitely nothing like the modal murder-chimps surrounding me on the road all day.

And man have I seen it all. Women curling their hair. A man flying by at 80 MPH in a 65 zone, with bad visibility, eating a cob of corn with both hands. Too many examples to even remember any more.

By all means get everyone else on FSD ASAP. Just please don't make it mandatory.

professional training on and off the racetrack

What kind of racing do you do? I used to love doing dirt track. I have some friends who are deep into autocross these days and have been trying to get me involved, but I really don't want to buy a car for it.

I'm not as into it as I used to be but basically just driving personally-owned sports cars at Laguna Seca etc. At the moment I don't own anything interesting and am busy with other pursuits.

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