In late July I had the privilege to ride in a fully automated 2026 Tesla model Y with my friend Matt Boyea and his brother, Mike (the Tesla owner), from Decherd, Tennessee, who was in Malone for his high school’s 50th class reunion. This was my first ride in a Tesla.
We went to Huntingdon, so locals might assume, correctly, that we went to Leblanc Patates (more commonly known as Pivan’s) for lunch.
Programing the car’s GPS with the address of the restaurant, we began the trip from Matt’s house in Malone. The car automatically backed out to the street and continued on village streets to Route 11 toward Chateaugay, stopping for STOP signs and red traffic signals, and obeying the speed limit of 30 mph in Malone and the posted limit of 40 mph on E. Main St. Road, and finally to 55 mph beyond the Brainairdsville Rd.
On Route 11, several miles from Malone, the car braked to 40 mph (the speed limit was still 55 as it has always been), and the information on the navigation screen showed the 40-mph speed as the posted limit. Mike overrode the speed to the 55-mph limit, and we continued uneventfully, slowing to 45 mph as we approached the village of Chateaugay, then 30 as required within the village, and turned left at the light toward the border.
Mike explained that there are several speed settings he can choose, including the posted speed limit, 5 mph above the limit, a setting that matches the flow of traffic, or to a faster setting that includes frequent lane changes.
When we arrived at the Chateaugay/Herdman border, we encountered another minor glitch. The car stopped, but not close enough to the gate at Canada Customs to activate the gate. The Tesla had computed that we could not continue, so it began to reverse (there were no vehicles behind us) and turn around, presumably to try another direction.
Mike overrode this incident that required driver intervention, and we continued to the Canadian Customs window,
I was very interested to see if the Tesla could recognize the metric speed limits of Canada — it did, proceeding after clearing customs at 90 kph (56 mph). When we arrived in Huntingdon, the Tesla slowed to the posted limit of 50 kph (31 mph). The GPS screen even showed the correct speed in miles per hour of 56 and 31, rather than 55 and 30 mph.
The car automatically continued to Leblanc Patates, but Mike had to take over to park, because fully automated vehicles don’t know where the driver wants to park.
After lunch, returning to Malone was much the same as the trip to Huntingdon, experiencing the same problem with the gate into the U.S. that we had at the entrance to Canadian Customs. The car didn’t get close enough to trigger the gate and started to reverse again, until Mike overrode the automation.
This Tesla model is considered a full, self-driving “supervised” vehicle. The designation “supervised” means the driver must constantly monitor the road, keeping eyes forward and be ready to take immediate control if necessary. The driver is legally liable for the vehicle at all times.
I felt very safe with the car in full automation. I would offer a rating of B+ or A-, because the Tesla can and does make mistakes, but the mistakes it made were not dangerous.
The day after our trip, Mike let me drive the car. I didn’t do anything; the car did it all. What an experience.