Interest and positive reviews of Tesla's Full Self-Driving (FSD) are spreading rapidly in Australia. Discussions comparing FSD to automatic flight control systems in commercial aircraft are continuing actively, both in local media reports and in debates centred on Facebook communities.

On Jan. 15 local time, electric vehicle outlet CleanTechnica reported that a test-drive video released by a specialist EV media channel recently drew attention after the driver described Tesla FSD as "surreal". The video has been shared in Australia and symbolically shows a shift in perceptions of self-driving technology.

At the centre of the discussion is former Qantas pilot David Nye. He began his career as a flight instructor in 1977, then worked as a charter and medical transport pilot, and served at Qantas from 1986 to 2020, flying nearly 30,000 hours on aircraft including Boeing 747s, 767s and 737s.

He predicts the future of cars will be similar to the development path of commercial aviation. Nye said, "If a human pilot tries to fly everything directly for long periods in scheduled airline operations, their career is over." He said, "Humans cannot deliver the level of multi-dimensional attention and subtle control that machines can perform." He added, "Future drivers, like pilots, will spend most of their time monitoring automated systems that operate more stably than humans."

He explained the benefits of autopilot by drawing on his own experience. Nye said, "I have monitored autopilot for nearly 30,000 hours. In the early 1990s I once flew a 767 from Japan to Australia without autopilot, and that was the most tiring flight of my life." He said automation greatly reduced pilot fatigue and increased safety.

He also pointed to another problem stemming from the spread of automation. Nye said, "Modern pilots are increasingly losing manual flying skills that are essential in emergencies," citing the Air France 447 accident as a representative case. This suggests the importance of a 'supervisor' in car self-driving as well.

He also drew a clear distinction between self-driving and aviation automation. Nye said, "Completing self-driving is a far more complex problem than aircraft autopilot," while adding, "Aviation also gained trust gradually over decades."

He also shared his personal experience with FSD. Nye currently owns three Teslas with his family and shows high satisfaction with vehicle upkeep costs and reliability. He said that since buying a 2019 Model 3 Performance, his total maintenance costs were less than $100, excluding tyres and wheel alignment.

Nye also said he has been driving a Tesla Model Y Juniper on FSD for more than 2 months and continues to be surprised by the system's performance. He said, "It makes mistakes sometimes, but they are mostly predictable and not fatal." He said, "Clear attention is needed, but overall it is at a very high level." He added of the latest version being used in the United States, "I hope version 14 is released quickly."

He also introduced the case of an elderly couple he knows who live in California. Nye said, "A man in his early 80s and his wife in her mid-70s say FSD is a 'life-changing technology'. They call the car 'James' and regard it as something that takes them anywhere."

Similar stories are also emerging in Australia's Tesla community. Discussion is continuing over whether FSD will become a new target of fear, uncertainty and doubt, or be accepted naturally like smartphones. Some assessments say it could greatly improve quality of life for older people and drivers suffering commuting stress, while others mention the possibility of pushback from the auto repair industry due to fewer accidents.