"It's not buying a car, it's buying time"... Comedian's reaction to testing Tesla FSD

As autonomous driving technology advances, there is a growing perspective that views automobiles not merely as means of transportation, but as 'tools for buying time.' In a recently released video from the YouTube channel MOTline, comedian Kim Jae-hoon shared his experience testing a Model X equipped with Tesla's autonomous driving software, FSD (Full Self-Driving).

"Driving time is a waste"... The 'value of time' provided by autonomous driving

Appearing in the video, Kim Jae-hoon expressed his expectations for autonomous driving technology by mentioning the inconveniences he experienced in the past while driving himself without a manager. He shared an anecdote from when he had to drive himself during the filming of 'The Bunker' due to the absence of a manager, which made getting out of the back seat difficult, and noted that when traveling long distances for regional events, he often feels that driving time is a waste. He went on to express high satisfaction with the leisure provided by the technology, using the expression that buying a car is like buying one's own time rather than just buying a vehicle.

In fact, during the test drive, Tesla's FSD function assisted driving by using cameras to identify various situations in real-time, such as lane keeping, forward monitoring, and recognizing surrounding vehicles and pedestrians. Through the screen in the video, it could be confirmed that the cameras inside the Tesla recognize signals, adjacent lanes, the right lane, and even lanes and people coming from the opposite direction. Experiencing this technical precision, Kim Jae-hoon shared his impression that it felt like buying time.

Performance differences according to driving mode... From 'Swift' to 'Mad Max'

Tesla's driving modes showed characteristics where the vehicle's response varies significantly depending on the settings. The video introduced a total of five modes, ranging from Comfort to Mad Max. The structure is such that the closer the mode is to 'Comfort,' the more conservatively and safely it drives, whereas moving toward 'Mad Max' mode makes the driving tendency more aggressive.

When the 'Swift Driving' mode was selected during the test drive, the vehicle continued to drive while complying with the speed limit. On the other hand, when switched to 'Mad Max' mode, the suspension response became rougher, and it was described as giving a sensation of racing when driving on a highway. However, Kim Jae-hoon cautioned that while the technology handles most things, it is not 100% perfect, so in uncertain situations, the driver must intervene by grabbing the steering wheel or pressing the brakes.

Technical limitations and user precautions... "Excessive trust is forbidden"

Despite the rapid advancement of autonomous driving technology, challenges that still need to be addressed were mentioned. According to the video, the FSD function tends to proceed near an intersection before merging into a lane when turning left or right, rather than entering the lane in advance, meaning there are moments in Korea's road environment where active driver intervention is required. In particular, in situations with heavy traffic, it was observed that the technology sometimes simply continues driving straight.

Additionally, voices of caution regarding excessive reliance on the technology were raised. Kim Jae-hoon emphasized that one must be careful as they grow to trust autonomous driving more, and must be wary of safety accidents that can occur from relying too heavily on the technology. He warned of the dangers that the convenience of the technology could bring, saying that while it feels awkward at first regarding what to do with one's hands, as one becomes more comfortable, it might reach a point where one wants to lie down.

Meanwhile, the vehicle used for this test drive was a Model X rented through 'Towncar,' a peer-to-peer vehicle sharing platform, and it was mentioned that the vehicle price is close to 200 million won including options. While reminiscing about memories of enjoying car camping with his wife while driving a Jeep Wrangler in the past, Kim Jae-hoon expressed high satisfaction with the results of this test drive.