Should a new driver have FSD?

“Settling debates on X in a calm manner”. 😂🤣😂🤣 In all seriousness, she should learn to drive first for lots of reasons but mostly because it’s “supervised”, understanding when & how to takeover isn’t possible without a foundation of knowledge & experience.

I remember when people were considering whether or not a new driver should drive an automatic transmission. Over time, manual transmissions fell away as the standard and now it's hard to find an automaker that will still produce vehicles with a stick. FSD will likely become the new standard as time moves on. Some people, like us Jeep people, will still stick to the old ways, but it's likely only going to be those in specific industries (4x4, racing, construction, etc). Give it 10 years and this won't even be a consideration.

Our son has a Tesla, but we want him to learn hands-on before using FSD. He needs the wherewithal of actual driving and experience that comes with hands-on driving before he goes full-time FSD. In 10 years, it will probably be a different conversation as technology progresses and preferences change.

Definitely. A lot of people are buying Teslas just for FSD. Especially girls are buying it, and that’s one of the reasons it’s going mainstream. Because they keep posting on TikTok and Instagram. We, Men, screaming about FSD didn’t work the same

yeah i think you gotta understand how to drive a car not for the driving part but for understanding how the road works so that way you can kind of know when you should take over or when you just be seated because you dont really need to know how to drive per se cuz fsd can handle that. but you need to know how to exist on the road to be courteous and whatnot so if fsd messes up and is not following one of the road laws just community then you can take over

In its current (Supervised) form, I agree with you. Would be good for her to learn the ropes first and feel confident that she can make a thoughtful intervention when needed.

I'd 100% buy my daughter a car with Tesla FSD. That being said, I'd still teach her to drive and expect her to pass the drivers test. Seems pretty simple

In my opinion one should be able to proficiently drive then use FSD because it’s still supervised and does make errors. Couple years from now unsupervised Level 5 is a different story.

If the parents aren’t too lazy to make sure she learns to drive it’s a good idea. Have her actually drive when they’re with her and when shes in her own in unfamiliar or higher risk scenarios she should use fsd for the additional safety.

This is a great question I struggle with. We just got our daughter who just got her license a well used M3 LR AWD and I put FSD on it but she wont use it. I want her to have driving skills so I am ok with it ish.

Learn how to drive before relying on FSD. There are corner cases where it won’t work or makes mistakes. The person in the drivers seat needs to recognize that and intervene before it becomes an issue. It would be fine 99+ percent of the time.

My wife is not a new driver. But she hates driving. She got a Tesla and uses FSD and honestly, she has learned more about driving from it than she has from being my passenger. Just our $0.02

Probably the best vehicle to really learn how to drive is a manual transmission maybe even without power steering and antilock brakes like some of us ancient ones learned on back in the day.

I am curious what Elon would say about this matter.I had this debate with my wife, who is not a big fan of driving in traffic,and we agree that even if FSD is doing a great job,as a beginner you should improve your driving skills and reaction time 1st before going all in on FSD

For right now yes you should learn how to drive especially since it’s currently supervised FSD…..5-10 years will probably go the way of cursive handwriting

We’re also facing a dilemma about whether to provide our new driver with a Tesla, which is renowned for its safety features. However, she’s not particularly interested in dealing with parking. Alternatively, we could give her a reliable and affordable Honda, where she can learn the ropes. Even if she gets into a minor accident or scrapes, it wouldn’t be a significant issue. Another consideration is the current gas prices. While Teslas are relatively affordable now. In your case strip only subscribe to FSD once she’s comfortable driving

Yea learn how to drive first, if you fully rely on the car driving itself then they wouldn't know how to take over if something bad happens. Also if you fully rely on it then you won't know how to be a good driver yourself.

Have her get a drivers license before she used FSD. No FSD when you still only have a permit.

Of course, teach yourself first of course the dad your teacher, but I would 100% give my 16 year-old if I could when they were younger a full self driving car or safety. I have 16,000 miles on my car. It hasn’t done one critical thing. 300 teenagers died last year texting while driving

I 100% think you should learn how to drive before FSD. I get the safety issue, but what if she’s in a position someday where there’s an emergency and she needs to drive a car and she’s never learned how to drive.

then add the other end of the spectrum how old is to old for FSD what's the limit on facilities this has not been discussed

I think supervising is going to be the new way of driver training.

She doesn’t have to have FSD she can just have cruise control and then once the father thinks she’s very competent and a good driver then they can pay the $100 a month.

My 16 year old recently started driving a Tesla. And I can say with confidence using FSD doesn’t teach you how to drive at all but on the other hand FSD is safer at driving than she is. So if she won’t gain experience driving her self she won’t be able to drive a regular car.

Licensing is still a requirement to operate a car, so the teen will need to learn to drive without FSD. Think about FSD uptake and how that changes driving in 10 years. Will driver's licenses be needed if few actually "drive" the car? If not, why have a DMV? Lots of changes...

My kids are learning how to drive. I feel the same way. i love teslas but i got them an older small crossover to learn on so they know how to drive. Until tesla ACTUALLY comes out with a production car with no steering wheel, you need to know how to drive even if its for the 1%.

Yes, for the moment, when learning, you need to be able to drive so that you can drive a car other than the Model Y. Otherwise your license is useless. In 10 years when more cars have FSD may be a different issue. At some stage it will be the only way people drive.

back in ancient times (1982), I wanted to learn how to use one of those new fangled computer things. I was told not to, because it would ruin my typing skills and I'd never get a decent job. I think about that when I think about FSD and worry about my own driving skills getting stale.

Can’t start out the gate with fsd … they need to know what they’re doing before letting a device chauffeur you

X is totally chill. No one is ever mad here. I think brother is right. Kids should drive for a while so they know how to. FSD is great, but it's still not autonomous. It would be hard for someone to supervise or know what to do if it glitched out, if they hadn't driven much.

This is like the debate in learning a manual vs automatic years ago. Very soon no one will need to learn how to drive just like we don’t need to know how to drive a stick shift

Agreed. Self driving is the future, but I think for now the FSD “supervisor” should be able to take over if there’s a problem. Even if it’s just basic driver safety skills.

Right now in 2026, no. I don’t feel like it’s good enough yet. When my daughter gets a “license” or whatever it’s called in 2037, it’s for sure not needed at all.

I think a new driver should learn to drive before they start supervising.

FIGHT ME - yes she needs to learn to drive. It’s a skill worth having, IMO. And guide her when to use FSD and why and to always be mindful while it’s driving.