Tesla FSD v14.3.1 Shows Real-World Obstacle Avoidance: Potholes and Manholes Skirted in Latest Build According to Sawyer Merritt on X, Tesla FSD v14.3.1 successfully avoided multiple potholes and manholes during real-world driving, with the system either independently choosing evasive paths or following leading-vehicle cues, as shown in the shared clip; the update also saves FSD overlay data directly to the phone for review. As reported by Sawyer Merritt, this behavior highlights improved road-hazard detection and path planning that can reduce wheel and suspension damage costs for fleet operators and owners. According to the same source, the on-device clip export with FSD telemetry streamlines incident analysis for businesses evaluating autonomy performance and driver monitoring. SourceAnalysis Diving deeper into the technical aspects, Tesla's FSD V14.3.1 likely leverages vision-based AI models, eschewing traditional radar and lidar in favor of camera-only inputs processed by neural networks. According to Tesla's AI Day presentations in 2022, their Occupancy Network can predict road surface conditions in real-time, potentially enabling independent decisions on obstacle avoidance. This is a step up from earlier versions, where FSD V12 in 2024 introduced end-to-end learning for smoother navigation. Implementation challenges include varying road conditions across regions; for instance, a 2025 study by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety noted that AI systems struggle with unmarked potholes in low-light scenarios, leading to potential overrides. Businesses looking to monetize this technology could explore partnerships with insurance companies, offering premiums based on FSD usage data, which has shown a 30 percent reduction in claims according to Tesla's 2024 safety report. Ethical implications arise in data privacy, as FSD collects vast amounts of driving footage; Tesla addresses this through opt-in features, complying with regulations like the EU's General Data Protection Regulation updated in 2023. Competitive analysis shows Tesla holding a 25 percent market share in electric