For over the past 18 months, Tesla FSD software deliberately removed the driver's ability to control following distance, instead replacing it with fuzzy descriptions of "mad max, hurry, standard, chill, and sloth." As a result the car cannot maintain a safe highway following distance as determined by the driver. When in Hurry and or Standard mode, the car will routinely reach speeds of 75 to 80 mph and decrease following distance to about 3 car lengths, with no car for more than 20 car lengths behind. When a...
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sudden slowdown occurs, the tesla reacts slowly, often decreasing the following distance to 1 car length, as the car behind closes and misjudges the deceleration of the Tesla, resulting in a potential 3 car collision. Adjusting from hurry to standard, or even down to chill or sloth mode does not bring the following distance back to the driver's education rule of thumb - 1 car length per 10 mph. About 3-10 seconds after the mode change, the software forces an unexpected lane change into a slower lane. The only solution is to disable all driver assistance measures, coast to the necessary following distance and then re-engage. The cycle then repeats. Sometimes when there are nearby cars blocking lane changes, the car remains at 1 car length following distance (for up to 7 seconds after changing from hurry to sloth mode), with the car behind at 3 car lengths while remaining at 70 to 75 mph. Software versions include the latest: 2026.21.6, with the HW4 autopilot computer. This is completely a vendor chosen software defect which could easily be addressed by new defaults, or with simple software changes. The elegant solution is to use the autopilot control scroll wheel. Presently, it takes 2 "detents" to change between modes, if turning one detent downwards would allow driver to increase following distance, that would be sufficient. Alternatively within the Byzantine onscreen menus, an option could be added, but that would be unsafe to adjust while driving.