FSD (Supervised) review: two months of real-world driving in Sydney traffic

FSD (Supervised) has been a revelation on my Model Y L. It's worth A$149 a month to me, and it has done about 96 per cent of my driving since September.

I used Autopilot briefly while I waited for FSD, and FSD is obviously far superior. It drives me almost everywhere in Sydney, and for the most part it works well.

Lane changes, merging and motorway exits

The surprise has been how good the faster speed profiles are. On Hurry and Mad Max, it's good at lane changes and picks the fastest-moving lane.

Merging is sometimes slow. It gives plenty of warning and waits for room, more than a human would.

Approaching a motorway exit, it can be aggressive. It overtakes slower cars, then cuts back into the exit lane late.

I find that anxiety-provoking. I'd rather it moved into the exit lane well before the exit, but it's a minor gripe.

Left turns and lane position

Left turns are taken a little wide. Once it scraped the kerb and gave a wheel kerb rash.

It also sat slightly right of where it should in the lane, though the latest version is better. The v14.3.12 release notes list "Mitigated unnecessary lane biasing". That version reached Australian cars with computer 4.0 through software update 2026.38.5.5 in October.

Car park and street parking

Parking needs a lot of work. In my apartment building's rear car park it has no clue, and it often doesn't detect the bays, so I can't use Autopark.

When I pick a street park, it takes a long time to get in, especially reversing in. It's much slower than a human.

Choosing a Supercharger bay

I charge at the Supercharger at The Grand, East Lakes. FSD gets me into the Supercharger area, but it doesn't choose the first free bay. It often drives past free ones, then is slow to get into the bay, holding up the traffic behind me.

Tesla is mapping its sites in more detail. Tesla Charging started Supercharger site maps in December 2025, showing each site's layout and live stall availability, at 18 pilot sites. Not a Tesla App found the first European maps in Belgium by February.

Tesla's senior director of charging, Max de Zegher, wrote on X in February that site maps provide "an excellent canvas" to keep improving, "including for FSD/Robotaxi". Tesla hasn't said whether or when Australian Superchargers will get maps that FSD can use.

Why it's worth A$149 to me

Driving gives me sore hands, so a car that does nearly all of it is worth the money to me.

My novated lease carries my FSD (Supervised) and Premium Connectivity subscriptions as running costs, so I pay them through the lease from pre-tax salary. Check with your own lease provider whether it will include them. Our novated lease guide lists the questions to ask.

If your car has the older FSD computer 3.0, also called HW3, I'm not sure you should subscribe now, but I think you should at least try it. Know what you're paying for, because those cars don't get city-street driving in Australia yet.

Which cars get city-street driving

The subscriptions page says any car with FSD computer 3.0 or 4.0, the onboard hardware the software runs on, can subscribe if it has Basic or Enhanced Autopilot. A car with Enhanced Autopilot pays A$75 a month rather than A$149.

Tesla gives no timing for city-street driving on 3.0 cars. Overseas, they get it through FSD (Supervised) v14 Lite, a distilled 4.0 build rolling out in North America and South Korea. In August, Tesla told Australian owners the local version is in active development.

Drive and CarExpert's reporting gives this split for cars sold in Australia:

To check your own car, go to Controls, then Self-Driving, then Additional Vehicle Information, or in the app, Vehicle, then Specs & Warranty. In New Zealand, Tesla's Model Y page lists the subscription at NZ$159 a month.

Subscribing and staying responsible

In the app, go to Upgrades, then Software Upgrades, tick Full Self-Driving (Supervised) and tap Subscribe. In the car, it's Controls, then Upgrades. Under Tesla's subscription terms, you can cancel at any time and keep access to the end of the period you've paid for.

You are still the driver. Transport for NSW says to stay alert with your hands on the wheel, ready to take over, and that you remain legally responsible.