FSD handles San Jose rain
Tesla’s Full Self-Driving 14.3 reportedly performed well in San Jose rain, confidently navigating puddles and faded lane markings according to local driver tests. The update adds to ongoing evaluations of how driver-assist systems behave in challenging local conditions. (x.com)
A local test in San Jose found Tesla’s latest Full Self-Driving build stayed composed in rain, tracking through standing water and worn lane lines on city streets. (x.com) Tesla calls the software Full Self-Driving (Supervised), and its support page says version 14 is available on Model S, Model 3, Model X, Model Y and Cybertruck vehicles in the United States and other markets. Tesla’s current product page says the system still “requires active driver supervision” and “does not make the vehicle autonomous.” (tesla.com 1) (tesla.com 2) Version 14.3 began rolling out in early April 2026. Release notes published by Tesla-tracking sites that mirrored Tesla’s notes say the update upgraded the vision system for “rare and low-visibility scenarios” and rewrote the artificial-intelligence compiler and runtime for a claimed 20% faster reaction time. (electrek.co) (notateslaapp.com) Rain is a hard test for camera-based driver assistance because reflections, spray and faded paint can make lane boundaries and road edges harder to read. Tesla’s owner manual says Full Self-Driving uses cameras around the car to model the area surrounding the vehicle and guide steering and speed decisions. (tesla.com) That matters in San Jose because the city mixes multilane arterials, patchy pavement and winter storm runoff, all of which can expose hesitation or false confidence in automated driving features. The test clip adds one more real-world datapoint as Tesla pushes version 14 beyond employee and early-access users. (x.com) (electrek.co) California regulators draw a bright line between supervised driver assistance and autonomous driving. The Department of Motor Vehicles says autonomous-vehicle testing on public roads requires a state permit, and it said on December 16, 2025 that Tesla’s older “Autopilot” and “Full Self-Driving Capability” marketing was misleading because the cars “cannot now” operate as autonomous vehicles. (dmv.ca.gov 1) (dmv.ca.gov 2) Tesla has since shifted its branding to Full Self-Driving (Supervised), and its current website repeats that a human must stay attentive and ready to take over at any time. That framing puts clips like the San Jose rain drive in the category of owner testing, not proof of hands-off autonomy. (tesla.com) (dmv.ca.gov) Tesla also points to fleet scale in arguing the system is improving quickly. Its Full Self-Driving safety page says drivers have logged more than 8.7 billion miles with the feature engaged, though those figures come from Tesla and are not an independent audit of performance in rain or any other single condition. (tesla.com) The next question is whether more wet-weather drives in ordinary traffic show the same result. For now, the San Jose run suggests version 14.3 can look steadier in rain than earlier builds, with the driver still legally and practically in charge. (x.com) (tesla.com)
