Tesla's Full Self-Driving Mix-Up Causes Arizona Woman to Lose New License

A newly licensed Arizona woman had her driving privileges revoked after a tester mistook her Tesla's regenerative braking for Full Self-Driving, fueling discussions about advanced technology in driving tests.

One Arizona woman got her driver's license after taking the test in the Model Y that belonged to her parents.

According to Teslarati, the tester believed she was using Full Self-Driving throughout the exam, thus the State's Department of Transportation officials canceled her passing grade the following day when she came to pick up her pass to newfound freedom.

DMV Mistakes Tesla’s Tech for Full Self-Driving

Their daughter's driving test was finally here, as reported in a post by u/theduke432 in the Tesla Model Y subreddit. They were instructed to come back the next day to retrieve her hard copy driver's license because the DMV computers were down.

On the other hand, things did not pan out:

“When she and my wife returned today, they were pulled out of line and told that my daughter would not be getting her license because the tester thought she was using FSD. When my wife explained that our car doesn’t have FSD they backtracked and said that because she didn’t touch the brake pedal enough and they thought the car was auto braking. She explained how regen worked but they refused to issue a license.”

Regen Braking Misunderstood as Auto-Braking

The storyteller recounted hearing the following: "If we don’t know she can brake with the brake pedal, then how do we know she can drive a non-Tesla."

Because they have "too many safety features," some have suggested that Teslas should not be included in driver's license tests at all.

Tesla Faces Growing Criticism in Driving Exams

It was Not a Tesla App that saw the story for the first time.

Regarding the licensing process, Teslas have been the target of criticism before. We reported in January that a driving school in Norway was considering the absence of stalks as a possible safety risk.

Ongoing Debate on Tesla’s Safety in Driving Schools

New drivers had trouble using the turn signal buttons and seemed to do better in vehicles with stalks, according to the Harstad Traffic School.

It seems like there are discussions going on about the administration of the driving exam in Arizona, but the driver was able to receive her license nevertheless.

Despite its absurdity, this narrative demonstrates that many remain unaware of FSD's potential and its actual applications.