You realize they presented it as 100% hands free driving from onramp to offramp right? In fact I seem to remember Elon specifically stating that needing to place your hands on the wheel at all would completely defeat the purpose.
You realize they presented it as being able to navigate to your front door by itself on private property to pick you up right?
You realize they presented it as being able to automatically adjust to speed limits without user input right?
Which of those is "just as it was presented" in the current release?
You realize that the software feature is in beta?
You realize that even at its current version, it is still the best on the market?
You realize that magic doesn't happen overnight?
These were shown as possibilities of what can be done with the current hardware and software setup. Doesn't mean that it should be done, or is ideal. There exists many, many, many variables that may prevent such things from happening, including but not limited to:
Widely varying road conditions/road marking conditions, construction, inclement weather, etc preventing such systems to accurately identify and read the road and react appropriately.
"Stupid" humans, meaning that even in a world with the majority of cars being autonomous, human nature can be a variable that's hard to predict, so computers have to account for that, and in some cases, may not be able to.
Other vendors that make up the parts of the Autopilot hardware and software suite (meaning that if there's a part discrepancy, or badly designed part, or if there's an software incompatibility, Tesla can only do so much before having to research, develop, tool, create, test, test, test, implement, beta test, refine, and release something on their own.
There's a fine line between science fiction and reality. Are you one of those people who believe that a car can drive across country autonomously on its own without human oversight or intervention, at the present time? Elon stated within two years, a car would be able to be summoned from across the country. I believe yes, that would be awesome, but I'm also realistic, and realize that being optimistic gets people closer to their own goals.
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I'm sorry, scottf200, but that is simply not true.
Go back and watch Elon Musk's presentation at the D launch. Every word he says makes it sound like the car will launch with the capabilities he is discussing. His entire presentation is in the present tense. (It was only later that we learned that some of the autopilot features would be rolled out over a few months.)
**** happens, timelines change. Maybe there was an issue or bug that manifested and they decided to delay the launch over a few months to fix the issue. Or maybe there were laws and regulations standing in the way (as there are currently in varying degrees of aggression).
We all want for the day when we don't have to touch the wheel at all, or when we don't even need to be in the car. It takes time however. You still have one of the best, smartest, safest, coolest looking cars on the road today.
