Bright to Holbrook, with FSD interventions
Show 1 more photo Show 7 more photos Hide additional photos
We don’t really plan our day’s trip ahead. We hopped in the car this morning in Bright, entered our destination for tomorrow as Budgewoi, and let the car decide the route. It decided that we’d stop at Holbrook and (I think) Goulburn, to charge along the way. The route seemed picturesque on the map, so we followed along. The views did not disappoint, but no photos of the scenery this time through, sorry.
Parked the car at Holbrook. Our windscreen shade got its first use this warming season. I have the car set to keep the car at below 35°C so the snacks don’t perish. And the fridge in the sub-trunk keeps the cold food chilled.
Lunch a block away at The Ten Mile Cafe.
FSD
I have a love/hate relationship with FSD (Full Self Driving). It is truly amazing. It can navigate through traffic, roundabouts, roadworks, intersections usually at least as well as I can. It greatly reduces fatigue on the long drives.
But it still randomly switches from 110 km/h to 100 km/h on the highway, for no apparent reason. When the car then asks why I intervened, I have left a few choice comments such as “I was cruising along at the speed limit while passing a truck, when the car thought, let’s just drop the speed. That’s not great when I have cars behind me. Are you trying to kill me?”.
It occasionally seems to not give way to someone on the roundabout.
Since it doesn’t yet detect potholes, I have to stay alert and often jerk the wheel to intervene, so avoid a flat tyre and damaged rim. That’s the same with or without FSD. The potholes in the country roads into and out of Bright are often rim killers, as in much of Victoria.
Apart from those scenarios, where I now know to pay special attention, it has been flawless. Relaxing enough to pour a cup of tea.
Charging
As usual, we don’t really plan charging. We left Bright with whatever we had from yesterday (about 65%) after Sentry Mode drain overnight. The car’s navigation defaulted to us charging in Holbrook at the perfect time for lunch. We just parked, plugged in and walked away. We returned to the car with full bellies and a full battery. I noticed that Tesla seems to have added a few v4 superchargers at the other end of the line in Holbrook.
Related Posts
- This morning, packing up and leaving Bright: Bye bye Bright 10 Sep 2026
- First impressions of FSD version 14, back in July: FSD version 14 first impressions 5 Jul 2026
- The same love/hate, on the first leg of a 4,000 km trip: Emerald to Maffra: praising and grumbling at FSD 9 Dec 2025
- When FSD first arrived in Australia: Our car drives itself: FSD lands in Australia 24 Oct 2025
- Holbrook before — a coffee stop, and the car choosing reverse: A wrong-way reverse in Holbrook 21 Jun 2025
- The obligatory Holbrook submarine photo, back in 2023: Holbrook submarine, with EV chats 29 Apr 2023
- The Bright Supercharger two nights before, and what it cost: EV charging is getting cheaper, while petrol prices increase 9 Sep 2026
- Up Mount Buffalo, the day before that: Bright to Mount Buffalo 9 Sep 2026
- The back-road drive that started this trip: Bright idea for a road trip 8 Sep 2026
- The next stop that afternoon, at Yass: Yass Superchargers, in search of services 10 Sep 2026
- Where that day ended — a $103 motel in Marulan: Bargain motel in Marulan 11 Sep 2026
- Two days on, through Sydney to Bankstown: Bankstown Superchargers 11 Sep 2026
- And the days that followed, on the Central Coast: Northern Central Coast 12 Sep 2026
- Then north again, past the Norah Head lighthouse: Norah Head Lighthouse 14 Sep 2026
Links
- Where we had lunch — The Ten Mile, 120 Albury Street, Holbrook: The Ten Mile
Report
Report
Report
Report