Why People Who Love Driving Still Need FSD | Taha Abbasi

The Objection That Is Not About Technology

Every enthusiast of Tesla Full Self-Driving has encountered this conversation. You excitedly share your experience with FSD, and the response is immediate and visceral: “I love driving. I do not want AI to drive for me. I want to drive myself.”

Taha Abbasi has had this exact exchange countless times. As someone who tests frontier technology in real-world conditions, I understand both sides of this discussion intimately. The objection to FSD is not technical — it is emotional. And that emotion is completely valid.

This article was inspired by a thought-provoking thread from Jani Kalttonen (@JaniKalttonen), who articulated this debate perfectly:

FSD guy: I love FSD! You should try it!
Joe Benz: I love driving, I do not want AI to drive for me. I want to drive myself.

I have had this conversation multiple times while being enthusiastically talking to people about FSD. People love driving. I love driving too…

— Jani Kalttonen (@JaniKalttonen) February 2026

Jani’s insight cuts to the heart of the matter: the objection isn’t about technology — it’s about identity and what “driving” actually means to us.

What Do You Actually Love About Driving?

Here’s the provocative question Jani raises: What is “driving” actually?

Is it the steering? Really? Then you must equally love operating the pedals. You must love manually maintaining your speed at exactly 65 mph for three hours straight.

Oh wait — you use cruise control. Why? I thought you loved driving.

The point is sharp but fair. When we say we love driving, most of us do not mean we love every mechanical task involved in vehicle operation. We love something deeper:

• The freedom of going places
• The scenery unfolding before us
• The quiet time alone with our thoughts
• The music, the podcasts, the conversations
• The sense of adventure and capability

Autonomous driving does not take any of this away. In many cases, it enhances the experience.

When FSD Becomes a Gift

Consider the scenarios where FSD genuinely shines — not replacing your joy, but protecting it:

The Daily Commute: That forty-five minutes of stop-and-go traffic twice a day is not driving. It is tedium. It drains you before your workday starts and depletes what remains of your energy afterward. FSD handles this so you arrive fresh instead of frazzled.

Long Road Trips: The open highway at hour six is different from the winding canyon road at hour one. By the time fatigue sets in, having FSD as a capable co-pilot is not laziness — it is wisdom. You stay rested for the moments that actually matter.

Night Driving: Visibility drops, attention wanes, risk increases. FSD maintains full situational awareness when human senses are compromised.

Unfamiliar Cities: Navigating complex interchanges in an unfamiliar metropolitan area while also watching for your exit and checking mirrors — FSD handles the cognitive load so you can focus on strategy rather than moment-to-moment survival.

In every one of these scenarios, you can take over instantly. The steering wheel does not disappear. Your control is never truly surrendered — it is optionally delegated.

The Cruise Control Parallel

History provides instructive perspective here. When cruise control first appeared in production vehicles, it faced exactly this resistance. “Real drivers control their own speed,” people said. “I do not need a computer managing my throttle.”

Today, no one views cruise control as a compromise of driving purity. It is simply a tool — one that frees your right foot on long stretches while you remain completely capable of driving manually whenever you choose.

FSD follows the same trajectory, just at a higher level of capability. It is cruise control for the whole driving task, available when you want it, invisible when you do not.

The Real Question

The question is not whether you love driving. The question is: do you love every moment of vehicle operation equally?

Do you love the traffic jam as much as the mountain pass? The parking garage as much as the coastal highway? The construction zone detour as much as the empty desert road at sunset?

Of course not. No one does. And that is precisely where FSD creates value — handling the moments that are not driving so much as they are commuting, waiting, or surviving.

The joy of driving is preserved entirely. You can always take the wheel. Tesla designed FSD this way deliberately — it is assistance, not replacement. Control returns to you with the slightest touch of the steering wheel or tap of the accelerator.

Freedom Means Having Options

At its core, what FSD offers is freedom — the same freedom that attracts us to driving in the first place.

Freedom to engage fully with the driving experience when the road calls to you. Freedom to delegate when it does not. Freedom to arrive energized instead of exhausted. Freedom to let the car handle the tedium while you enjoy the journey.

Taha Abbasi believes technology should expand human capability, not constrain it. FSD, implemented thoughtfully, does exactly that. It does not ask you to stop loving driving. It asks you to recognize that not every moment behind the wheel is equally deserving of your attention and energy.

The skeptics are not wrong to love driving. They are simply working with an incomplete understanding of what FSD offers.

It is not a replacement. It is an option. And options are what freedom looks like.

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