Trip Report — FSD off-road, off-database, off-grid

[Stuck4ger]

This past weekend I visited friends in Mammoth Lakes, CA and we took my CT to Mono Lake for some sight seeing. They suggested taking the scenic loop back but we saw warning signs that it was closed. My buddy (who was in the drivers seat on FSD) suggested “let’s see what FSD does!” It drove up to just before the barricade and turned left onto a dirt road to a camping area. The nav route showed a path through the wilderness that eventually closed with his home. He remarked that there were fire roads that went through and was curious to see what the truck would do.

After a few hundred yards the nav flipped, showing it would save 20+ minutes by doing a u-turn but for some reason it continued past that spot and kept going. It got to a Y and took the opposite fork that the nav showed. Soon it was going up a moderate rocky trail that was not depicted on the map. We were out of cell phone with no updates yet it was still on FSD and totally using vision mode. It was steep enough that the Scorpion tires were slipping a bit occasionally. It made a turn at the top of a spine where we visually couldn’t see what was next but the forward cam looked good so we allowed it to make the turn and then the trail took a steep descent and got much more rocky. He reactively applied the brakes and we decided to do a 3-point turn around (which also impressed him).

He was floored that FSD had done so well picking its way through close brush, trees, and rocks and stated he was hesitant to drive it manually!

Anyway it was a very interesting data point. You can’t engage FSD in off-road mode but you can go surprisingly far off-road on FSD!

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[HaulingAss]

This past weekend I visited friends in Mammoth Lakes, CA and we took my CT to Mono Lake for some sight seeing. They suggested taking the scenic loop back but we saw warning signs that it was closed. My buddy (who was in the drivers seat on FSD) suggested “let’s see what FSD does!” It drove up to just before the barricade and turned left onto a dirt road to a camping area. The nav route showed a path through the wilderness that eventually closed with his home. He remarked that there were fire roads that went through and was curious to see what the truck would do.

After a few hundred yards the nav flipped, showing it would save 20+ minutes by doing a u-turn but for some reason it continued past that spot and kept going. It got to a Y and took the opposite fork that the nav showed. Soon it was going up a moderate rocky trail that was not depicted on the map. We were out of cell phone with no updates yet it was still on FSD and totally using vision mode. It was steep enough that the Scorpion tires were slipping a bit occasionally. It made a turn at the top of a spine where we visually couldn’t see what was next but the forward cam looked good so we allowed it to make the turn and then the trail took a steep descent and got much more rocky. He reactively applied the brakes and we decided to do a 3-point turn around (which also impressed him).

He was floored that FSD had done so well picking its way through close brush, trees, and rocks and stated he was hesitant to drive it manually!

Anyway it was a very interesting data point. You can’t engage FSD in off-road mode but you can go surprisingly far off-road on FSD!

Thanks for the trip report! I am a little confused, did you guys turn around because you didn't know if the route would work (and didn't want to find out), because it got too rugged, or a combination of factors? Did you find a scenic loop back around the closure?

Sometimes backcountry routes are marked closed even when they are open. Last week I drove a backcountry route past a temporary sign that said "Road Closed in 9 miles, Flood Damage". In 9 miles I came to some equipment and saw a worker with a chainsaw. I asked him if I could hike past the closure. He said they were just finishing up and in 1/2 hour the road would probably be clear all the way to the alpine. I came back in an hour and drove all the way to the top (through some untracked snowfields covering the road). Three days later the sign was still there, telling people the road was closed in 9 miles, but there was no longer any closure. I spoke with people who had turned back due to the sign.

 

[Stuck4ger]

We turned back because it was turning into a longer adventure than we had budgeted our time for, as well as the unknowns and the fact that I now have Scorpion core tires and no spare. It was a bit of a CT show and tell to a skeptic friend. As it was, he was extremely impressed. Having a cut side wall that far off the grid would have significantly changed the day for the four of us

 

[HaulingAss]

We turned back because it was turning into a longer adventure than we had budgeted our time for, as well as the unknowns and the fact that I now have Scorpion core tires and no spare. It was a bit of a CT show and tell to a skeptic friend. As it was, he was extremely impressed. Having a cut side wall that far off the grid would have significantly changed the day for the four of us

Makes sense, discretion is the better part of valor!

I've been testing the latest version FSD on some little travelled packed dirt forest roads that have tight twisty sections and lots of big humps and dips (blind rises falling into tight downhill corners, etc.). These are one lane with no markings (obviously) but two vehicles could squeeze past each other if they both hug the extreme edges and go slow. I'm impressed with how it hustles along and picks "racing lines" (enters wide for visibility and hits the inside apex of the corners with just a few inches to spare). It also has very good speed control (picks a good speed for each section and smoothly transitions speeds naturally, just like a good driver would). It also seems to understand the camber of the road (as it constantly changes and this affects the appropriate speed).

It's good about going around downed branches and the like but not so good at avoiding defects in the surface (like potholes and rocks small enough to not cause damage but big enough for me to see and want to avoid). Even on "Standard" speed mode it makes good time and doesn't piddle around unless it encounters a real problem (ie. it should slow down). I think part of the speed it chooses in any given mode considers how bumpy the ride is. That's probably why it's hustling so fast on these mostly smooth packed dirt roads.

It's not yet better than a human on these backcountry routes, but it puts on a good show trying to be.

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