A Washington state driver says he’s put Tesla’s Full Self-Driving (FSD) Supervised system to an extreme real-world test, covering more than 11,000 miles without touching the steering wheel or pedals — and that experience has reshaped his view of Tesla and how cars should drive.
In an as-told-to essay recorded by Business Insider, 28-year-old David Moss, a product manager from Puyallup, Washington, recounts how the electric sedan handled nearly every conceivable challenge on the American road network, from cross-country highways to construction detours and even severe windstorms, while he remained hands-off behind the wheel.
Business Insider verified Moss’ story through his vehicle’s telemetry and travel logs. It shows a remarkable run of autonomous driving capability: from November 25 through December 31, confirming, as he says, that his Tesla drove over 11,000 consecutive miles with zero manual inputs — not even to steer into a parking space or approach a charger.
“When I say no intervention, I mean down to the 10th of a mile — 100% no steering wheel or pedal touches,” Moss told Business Insider. “That includes parking and getting into a charging station.”
A Road Trip Like No Other
Moss began documenting his cross-USA road trip on October 28, 2025, which eventually stretched to over 18,700 miles as he crisscrossed the continent for work and personal travel. That included long legs through Texas, the Rockies and desert corridors, followed by drives up the West Coast and back to the eastern seaboard.
He reports that the turning point was the FSD version 14.2 software update, which he downloaded remotely via a Starlink Mini terminal installed on his Tesla. With that software revision, the car became capable of autonomously navigating everything from freeway ramps and turn lanes to urban intersections and unmarked detours.
In one standout section through Interstate 80 in Wyoming during a windstorm, Moss says the system handled high winds and erratic traffic without veering out of lane or disengaging. “In about a hundred-mile stretch I saw six different tipped-over semi-trucks,” he recalled, noting FSD stayed composed even when driving between lane markers was not assured.
What He’s Doing While the Car Drives
Despite the car’s autonomy during those miles, Moss stresses he has not abandoned safety. He says he keeps his eyes on the road at all times and refrains from using his phone, which remains illegal and unsafe — even while making phone calls or listening to podcasts.
“I haven’t tested out being on my phone with my eyes off the road. That’s still against the law, and it’s just not worth the risk,” he told Business Insider. “I’m a million times less scared than I’ve ever been in an Uber ride or with most of my friends.”
Moss says he bought his first Tesla in March 2024 primarily because of FSD, despite describing the car’s electric drivetrain as sometimes slower than a conventional gasoline car for his heavy annual mileage. Prior to the Model 3 he drives today, Moss owned a Tesla Cybertruck — only to total it in an off-road incident.
Now, however, he says he won’t buy a car that doesn’t offer a similar self-driving experience.
“At this point, a technology like FSD is indispensable to having a car,” Moss said. “The feature provides me with peace of mind, having that extra set of eyes on the road.” Not everyone agrees with this sentiment as many have often questioned the point of driving without driving.
He even links the technology to a personal mission: giving his legally blind father a future in which an unsupervised “Cybercab” could one day provide him freedom on the road. Indeed, users have just started to trump up previously unrealized applications of unsupervised self-driving technology for people with a myriad of health conditions.
A Broader Conversation About Autonomy
While Moss’ experience showcases FSD’s progress, it also arrives amid broader questions about how systems like Tesla’s are marketed and understood. Critics and regulators have pushed Tesla to clarify that its driver assistance features, including Autopilot and FSD, do not currently equate to true autonomous driving.
Still, for drivers like Moss who spend tens of thousands of miles on the road each year, the appeal of a system that can shoulder the bulk of the driving workload is becoming hard to ignore, even if the technology isn’t yet fully hands-off in the legal or technical sense.
Sources: Business Insider Africa