Some users of Tesla’s supervised Full Self-Driving (FSD) subscription service say the experience has been life-changing.

Speaker and consultant John Foppe, who drives a 2026 Tesla Model Y with the latest version of FSD, was born without arms. He told The Epoch Times that FSD takes most of the fatigue out of driving for him, making it more comfortable going longer distances and navigating challenging parking.

Foppe is the founder of the nonprofit Friends of the Forgotten.

“I have to drive to speaking engagements and meetings with supporters to help connect disabled adult mentors with isolated disabled children in the developing world,” he said. “So I arrive with more energy to share our mission and build the support those children need.”

Founded in 2025, Friends of the Forgotten is a Catholic international ministry.

“Our mission is rooted in the Catholic conviction that every person is created by God, possesses inherent dignity, is made for relationship, and has a vocation to contribute,” its website states.

For Foppe, the greater independence gained through FSD is not just about where he can go, but whom he can reach.

FSD has changed the amount of driving he is willing to do and how far he’ll go. He lives 40 miles east of St. Louis and often heads to the city for meetings or air travel.

“I often was delegating driving to my wife,” he said. “Or I would hire a driver to do it.”

FSD also allows him to go on his own to visit his daughter, who lives more than 500 miles away.

In the past he would shy away from parallel parking, but FSD has changed that.

Tesla’s FSD is trained on billions of miles’ worth of anonymous driving data, according to its website, and its vehicles are equipped with cameras providing a full view around the vehicle for the autonomous driving system to react to its environment.

In addition to the self-driving feature, FSD can parallel park for you, and the Tesla app has a feature in which you can have your vehicle drive to you through a parking lot or out of a tight space and pick you up. In this Smart Summon feature, the vehicle has a limited range in which you can summon it, and it stays at a decreased speed while traveling to you.

Foppe trusts the safety of the technology, though he did note one incident in an older version. When he was in his previous Tesla, a 2019 Model 3, the car failed to avoid some debris on the road and blew out a tire. However, Foppe was able to respond right away and was not harmed.

The technology has evolved and now impresses him with what it’s able to notice on the road, such as potholes and small animals, he said.

John Foppe, founder of the nonprofit Friends of the Forgotten, with his Model Y Tesla. (Courtesy of John Foppe)

Meeting a boy in Haiti who was living in poverty left an impression on Foppe when he was a teenager. This encounter was one of the seeds that would bloom to become his nonprofit.

The nonprofit’s website states: “We also challenge the assumption that disabled people should primarily be understood as recipients of help. They possess experience, ability, wisdom, and gifts that can benefit others.”

John Foppe, founder of the nonprofit Friends of the Forgotten, mentoring a child. (Courtesy of John Foppe)

Commuters Report Benefits

FSD is not just helping drivers with disabilities.

Dominic Cianfarini, who drives a 2024 Model X Plaid using the latest version of FSD, said the technology has made the everyday driving experience less stressful as well.

According to a 2024 study published by the Journal of Safety Research, participants using vehicles with Level 2 automation for 6 to 8 weeks reported reduced stress while driving and more enjoyable travel.

The Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) defines vehicles with Level 2 automation as having “both lateral and longitudinal control systems that can be engaged simultaneously,” compared to Level 1 advanced assistance systems that only enhance steering, braking, acceleration, and lane centering, according to the study. Both types of vehicles must be monitored by drivers who can safely take back full control of the vehicle when necessary.

Tesla’s supervised FSD is an SAE Level 2 automated driving system.

Cianfarini, a co-owner of multiple Melo’s Pizza & Pasta restaurants in California, has to drive frequently for work and uses FSD almost full-time, he said.

“It’s a real life changer in that regard,” he told The Epoch Times. “Especially for people who have to commute, who have long commutes or have to sit in traffic … it’s totally a game changer.”

Cianfarini said he has never felt he was in danger while using the technology. In his experience, it is very good at avoiding objects in the road and handling construction zones and other unusual situations.

Sometimes while commuting, he does take control of the driving himself.

“All of us commuters, we all kind of have our little tricks and schemes to make our commute just a little bit better,” he said. “Like if I get into this lane now, I’ll be able to get off the freeway and then I’ll be in this perfect spot; I know this is going to save me a little bit of time. So the car doesn’t know how to do that yet.”

Dominic Cianfarini, co-owner of multiple Melos Pizza & Pasta restaurants in California. (Courtesy of Dominic Cianfarini)

Cianfarini shared one experience that was disappointing when he used a previous version of FSD in his 2021 Model S Plaid. He took his mom on a drive with FSD because she was interested in it, and it drove briefly into the oncoming traffic lane, a rare mistake.

“But that’s the last time it did anything that I would say kind of surprised me,” he said.

He said the technology drives politely and doesn’t cut people off.

“The fact that it knows its surroundings every second, every millisecond of every second that it’s driving—you can’t really replace that with human drivers,” he said.

Dominic Cianfarini’s Tesla 2024 Model X Plaid. (Courtesy of Dominic Cianfarini)

One thing that causes a little bit of confusion to other drivers is that FSD brings the car to a complete stop at stop signs, he said. So if you come to a stop sign at roughly the same time as another driver, he said, most people are used to a California stop where people roll through.

He said even though you might have arrived at the stop sign first and you have the right of way, since FSD makes a complete stop, other drivers tend to think you’re letting them go before you.

Cianfarini said he’s always been a car guy and has two old diesel trucks as well as a ‘65 Mustang, but driving with FSD in his Tesla is what he prefers.

“Once you’ve started using it, you can’t go back,” he said. “My wife has a really fancy, fast, very nice SUV, and it just feels like I’m going back in time when I drive it.”

Renting a Tesla With FSD

Starting Oct. 28, people can search and book a Tesla rental with activated FSD using the San Francisco-based car rental marketplace Turo, according to the company.

“Most travelers have had limited opportunity to experience driver’s assistance technology, but the demand is clear. Our own research shows that 55% of Americans are interested in driverless technology for travel, growing to 71% for Gen Z. Turo’s marketplace model is uniquely positioned to close the gap between consumer curiosity and hands-on access,” Turo CEO Andre Haddad said in a statement.