Along with the steering yoke and insanely fast acceleration of the new 2022 Tesla Model S Plaid EV, we've now had a chance to try Tesla's predictive shifting, and we're pleased to announce it works. Kind of. Most of the time. And when it doesn't work, the car doesn't seem to do anything dangerous, and it rarely does anything truly stupid.

What Tesla's Predictive Shifting Does and Doesn't Do

The system's official name is Auto Shift Out of Park (Beta), and that's an accurate description, as is Musk's use of the word "guess." The idea is that when you power-up the Tesla (there's no ignition key or power button; you just step on the brake), the car will know whether to shift into forward or reverse for your departure. One automated direction choice is all you get, as once the car moves, direction choices are all down to you.

Letting the Model S Shift for Itself

Here's how it goes, when it goes: Turn on the car, close your door, and fasten your seat belt (the 2022 Model S prompts you for the last two). If the car is able to predict a likely direction of travel, it prompts you to tap the brake pedal to select either Drive or Reverse. If the car can't decide—or if the system is unavailable—it prompts you to shift for yourself on the touchscreen. The latter requires stepping on the brake and swiping the little car icon up or down, which is pretty slick itself.

We tried a variety of situations, including parking in stall spaces, parking with the nose or tail facing garages or walls or curbs, parallel parking with a car in front or a car in back, or just pulling over and stopping at the curb.

In about three-quarters of the scenarios we tested, Auto Shift worked as advertised: The Model S prompted us to engage the (correct) gear, asking us to confirm its choice with a brake-pedal tap. When the system didn't work, it prompted us to choose our own direction using the touchscreen shifter.

When It Went Wrong, How Wrong Did It Go?

The system chose the wrong direction on three occasions. When we were parallel parked immediately behind one of the billion Toyota Camrys on Los Angeles' streets, the car wanted to select Drive. We gave it the requested brake-pedal tap, and the Tesla did indeed allow us to creep forward toward to the Camry. However, when we repeated the same scenario parked behind the Plaid's smaller brother, a Tesla Model 3, the car correctly identified the need to back up.

In one of the parking lots, after successfully backing out of a spot against a wall, we stopped the car in the middle of the lot with nothing ahead or behind. We could have pulled forward, but Auto Shift prompted us to back up. Finally, as we backed into a spot, the car wanted to shift into Reverse—but as we paused to take a cell-phone photo, the Model S changed its mind and prompted us to select Drive.