June 16, 2020

Watch how Tesla Autopilot performs on a race track in a Model Y

Most often, we see Tesla Autopilot being tested on the highway (or city streets) where there's plenty of clear road markings. However, in a recent video, a bunch of Tesla owners tested Autopilot on a race track driving a Model Y Performance.

Above: Testing Tesla Autopilot on a race track (Source: i1Tesla / YouTube)

This private race track is owned by Out of Spec Motoring (the folks who also previously tested the same car's drifting abilities) — the team's final verdict was that the "Tesla Model Y Performance rips through the track like a rally car".

In any event, while testing the Tesla Model Y on Autopilot, the vehicle handled most turns pretty easily except for that sharp ~180° one at the nose of the race track. For reference, check out a diagram of the race circuit below.

Above: Out of Spec Motoring Race Circuit diagram (Illustration by Iqtidar Ali / Tesla Oracle)

Tesla's been making continuous improvements to its vehicles overall (especially its Autopilot features). With new over-the-air updates coming, Tesla's ever-improving self-driving software functionality can detect more objects and handle a wider array of different road conditions. The recent Tesla firmware update 2020.12.6 added the ability to read traffic lights and stop signs. In another update, Teslas can also now detect pedestrians (on foot or bicycle) — watch the following video for demo.

Above: Tesla Update 2020.16.2.1 Animated Pedestrians FSD HW3.0 (YouTube: JuliansRandomProject)

Although there are no road signs and road markings to detect in these testing conditions, Model Y Autopilot was successfully able to detect and avoid the traffic cones laying on the side of its path — impressive to witness as the car's center touchscreen also shows the cones in the visualization in the exact spot as it passes by.

One other intriguing bit of information also comes from the race track video — a Tesla Model Y's max speed in reverse gear is 16 mph (25.74 km/h) compared to Tesla Model 3's 15 mph (24.1 km/h).