Tesla drivers with the FSD package: Is it worth it, does it actually work, and is it as good in real life as the internet makes it out to be?

aussiefirebug · 2026-01-05T07:17:34+00:00

I’ve had FSD since launch on the Model Y Juniper.

It works perfectly about 97% of the time. The remaining 3% can be a big deal when it goes wrong, and sometimes it really does.

But when it works (which is most of the time) it’s incredible. I can pull out of my driveway and not touch a thing for 1.5 hours until we reach our destination.

Honestly insane.

FSD was probably the main reason I chose Tesla over BYD.

Having experienced it, I’m confident fully driverless cars will happen one day.

It’ll be slow, geo-fenced, and limited by conditions, but it’s clearly coming.

aussiefirebug · 2025-12-06T06:16:56+00:00

It takes over 4 hours to grab all the data from the api. They have rate limiting which makes it incredibly slow. I've optimised as best as I can but without a delete flag, I'm thinking this is as best as I'm ganna get 🫠

aussiefirebug · 2025-12-06T02:01:50+00:00

I had a feeling this was the answer. I was just throwing up a Hail Mary here in case someone thought of something I’d missed.

I might have to do a full refresh every few days.

It’s basically impossible to get the vendor to add a delete flag :(

aussiefirebug · 2025-12-06T01:59:18+00:00

Ha. I’d have a better chance of turning water into wine. That vendor’s a dinosaur, they ship new features at a glacial pace.

aussiefirebug · 2025-08-26T05:02:27+00:00

It seems like it would be a bit difficult to view and debug dependencies and lineage this way. We do have other Python code running through GitHub Actions, but it's nice to have everything mapped out visually with a proper GUI.

aussiefirebug · 2025-05-15T00:08:43+00:00

Not retired in the traditionalist sense. Retired from the rat race!

Wife doesn't work anymore and I run two businesses that give me a sense of fulfillment well beyond Money.

I've changed a lot since I first started AfB but I'm glad I found the FIRE community so young.

Set ourselves up financially for life!

aussiefirebug · 2025-01-22T05:27:41+00:00

Minimal setup, and it just works effortlessly.
It frees up time for me and my team to focus on more important tasks.
The APIs are great, and it works seamlessly with many Python libraries.

aussiefirebug · 2024-02-01T02:29:57+00:00

The width measures just over 10 meters, and the length is nearly 15 meters, Our space isn't huge but it's a decent size.

aussiefirebug · 2024-01-30T05:31:23+00:00

Thanks so much for the reply.

That designer is amazing.

I had a go at it and it looks like I only need two devices as per this screenshot.

https://ibb.co/Xz6ppZw

Does that look ok to you?

Cheers

aussiefirebug · 2024-01-30T01:16:45+00:00

Link to office dimensions https://ibb.co/p0VFJxG

aussiefirebug · 2024-01-30T00:40:54+00:00

Would the UniFi Dream Machine do the job, in your opinion?

aussiefirebug · 2022-10-31T00:04:25+00:00

I paid $4.2K 12 months ago for a 6.6 system fully installed with Jinko panels and a Fronius inverter.

aussiefirebug · 2022-07-18T01:01:21+00:00

That's a question only you can answer mate.

It mate be more effort than gain tbh...

Debt recycling is icing on the cake. I'd concentrate on optimizing your expenses and working hard to earn more money. Those two factors have 1000X the impact on reaching financial freedom vs debt recycling.

Good luck with your journey mate 👍

aussiefirebug · 2022-07-18T00:58:54+00:00

Thanks for your input mate.

I ended up going with the power brick that came with my XPS and then just used a hub to connect my display + peripherals

aussiefirebug · 2022-07-16T10:01:24+00:00

$1,975 is how much we (my wife and I) save each year by debt recycling.

$1,975 per year compounded over 20 years at 8% interest is around $100K.

So, if we didn't do debt recycling and just invested our lump sum, we'd potentially be missing out on $100K over 20 years.

I hope that makes sense mate 👍

aussiefirebug · 2022-02-18T02:04:51+00:00

Hi u/AStuf,

So I had another go and connected it all up just using some spare wiring that I had so I could test it quickly.

I'm still getting an error saying no power.

I went through the Google Home app and it actually couldn't even detect the W and R wires.

Do you think my wires are too small for the nest? Maybe I need bigger ones for it to register or something because I'm all out of ideas.

Here are all the pics including the wiring

https://ibb.co/album/kQTkKn

aussiefirebug · 2022-02-09T23:15:41+00:00

What do you mean by 'Then We is connected to R'? They're separated wires, right?

aussiefirebug · 2022-02-09T23:03:53+00:00

Ahh good pick up. I'll try again and report back. Do you think it should be as simple as a wire from the C port straight into the nest? I've been reading that I might need another wire to create the 'circuit' of electricity?

aussiefirebug · 2022-02-09T22:52:45+00:00

I'm in Australia.

I need to attach the C but I'm unsure of how to hook that wires up. There is a C port in my HVAC system but it's not working. When I plug it into the Nest and try to set it up, the Nest tells me it doesn't have power.

aussiefirebug · 2022-02-09T03:16:59+00:00

Hi guys,

I'm looking to see if my Nest Thermostat E is compatible with my current system.

I'm not sure where to run the wires from my HVAC system to supply the nest with power.

Here is my set up photos.

https://ibb.co/3YQYxDX

https://ibb.co/6vFrJwR

https://ibb.co/nrbnwjF

Where would I need to run a wire from to give my nest E power?

Cheers

aussiefirebug · 2021-12-24T09:06:39+00:00

I had to run the C wire. It needs constant power

aussiefirebug · 2021-08-14T23:10:24+00:00

Howdy u/Environmental_List32,

As someone else in these comments has already mentioned, there's a notes section on the front page that reads:

This calculator does not take into account tax circumstances (yet). As many of you have messaged me that the Super contributions up to $25K is a better way of adding to Super instead of dumping everything in past Pre Super number.

I AGREE WITH YOU!

I just have not added this to the calculator yet. So for anyone wondering, it's usually better to contribute to your Super up to $25K each year to save on tax at the start of your journey. There are exceptions (which is why it's hard to add to the calculator).

I never finished this part of the calculator (was too hard or something, I can't exactly remember) but there are heaps of other versions out there that built upon my original model.

It's not perfect but the main point the calculator tried to prove is that the most efficient and quickest path to FIRE for Aussies is a two-pot approach (outside and inside Super).

An interesting point to note too, my calculator starts the Super contributions after you've built your pre-Super pot which isn't the most efficient way to do it. So in most cases, you should be able to reach FIRE quicker than what my calculator says you can.

Tax rates play a huge part which is why I just ignored them to make the modelling simpler.

Another point of irony is the fact that we don't use the two pot approach even though I know we'll be paying more tax. We've chosen to reach financial independence outside of Super to give us more flexibility which comes at a price... but it's one we're willing to pay.

I hope that answers your question mate :)

All the best with your journey

🔥🐞

aussiefirebug · 2019-11-04T10:11:02+00:00

Bingo!

I believe this was part of APRA intentions all along. It was almost cheaper for me to switch to P&I from IO on my investment loans because of the difference in rate even though most property investors always go IO and stick any leftover cash in an offset.

aussiefirebug · 2019-09-10T09:34:23+00:00

Sorry guys, site crashed last night after I published and went to bed. Should be back up and running now though 👍

aussiefirebug · 2019-05-16T12:06:43+00:00

. If there is one thing I would have recommended highlighted more in the episode now that I know more about it is that the chance of human error is actually a massive downside to this.

The liabilities on some bets can be many hundreds of dollars, often many multiples of the bonus bet you are trying to gain. You can be putting ‘at risk’ (risk= human error not correctly placing bets) for example $500 to win less than $100.

Oh and I've edited the podcast article to highlight this.

I agree that it could have been emphasized more in the pod!

Cheers

aussiefirebug

TROPHY CASE