Anyone not getting Enhanced Autopilot (EAP)?

[PRSIST]

From all of the responses it is clear that everybody has a definitive idea of what their needs are.

My pros for getting EAP: TACC (90%), summon mode for garage (5%), ability to relax on a long straight trip (5%).
Now, those are nice to have but are they need to have at $5,000?

Cons: $5,000 more on the initial cost of the car and having to explain to my wife why I'm paying $59,000 instead of $35,000.

The struggles I am having every single day is do I NEED EAP when I buy the car or can I wait and see if it is really needed and then pay, what, $6,000 for the software activation at a later time?

I could use the $5,000 to get the Aero wheels replaced ($1,200<), windows tinted ($750), wall charger ($500), floor mats ($245), flat tire kit ($50) or maybe a Donut tire?, wheel lock set ($60), and XM radio ($70). Hmmmmm.

 

[dgpcolorado]

Much as I would like TACC it isn't worth $5000 to me. EAP would be useless where I live for local driving and I simply don't find driving myself on long road trips all that difficult using the old style cruise control.

My impression is that those who find EAP very valuable for their driving conditions fall into two categories: those who use it in heavy commute traffic for stress relief and those who find that it helps with fatigue on long road trips, with some overlap between the two of course. For the first case, I don't deal with traffic here in the mountains* and many of the roads aren't suitable for EAP anyway. The only time I deal with heavy traffic is when passing through cities on road trips and such occasions are a small portion of the total trip time. The rest of the time on road trips I just don't find it difficult to drive myself, even when doing 12 to 15 hours per day (including charge stops). For me, EAP is strictly in the "might be useful on occasion for road trips" category and not worth more than a small fraction of the $5000 cost. I'd happily pay $500 just for TACC though.


* Getting away from the traffic and congestion of cities and suburbia was one of the reasons I moved to the peace and quiet of the rural mountains two decades ago; my entire county here has a population of about 4500.

 

[Sonny Daze]

I have no interest in EAP. However, if Tesla wants to pay me to test their beta software we might be able to work out a deal.

 

[SlicedBr3ad]

I have no interest in EAP. However, if Tesla wants to pay me to test their beta software we might be able to work out a deal.

Unfortunately, that's the way it works with all software, not just Tesla. people pay to use software and find many bugs, some even find enough bugs to say the software is beta quality.

 

[Krazaak]

If you factor in financing it over the life of the loan, plus the additional taxes and registration, it might not be too different from waiting.

If paying cash, probably better to purchase up front.

Yeah, I just wasn't sure if he was aware that waiting a few weeks could cost him an extra $1000.

 

[SlicedBr3ad]

Yeah, I just wasn't sure if he was aware that waiting a few weeks could cost him an extra $1000.

One could invest $8k into Nvidia and give it a couple of years then buy fsd with some money to spare if you don't care about using the features in meantime.

 

[Railhawk52]

I've noticed a lot of people have commented on here that they're waiting for the price of EAP to go down. How realistic is that?

I was originally thinking the same thing: Enable it when I really need it for a long road trip or something and save the 5k up front but idk how much the price on it will come down in the next three years. Guess it depends on what the competition is charging?...

 

[grashelm]

And the more I read...the more I am convinced my decision to bypass EAP is the correct decision.

60 mph; excellent road markings and AP2 tried to throw the car at the median

 

[Phrixotrichus]

Once eap and fsd reach 100% safe level 3 on highways I'll get it because that's the point where I actually gain additional time which is worth paying for. That being said....I don't think we'll see that anytime soon....or ever...with the current hardware.

 

[DrivingRockies]

How realistic is that?

Autopilot has only increased in cost. I wouldn't expect it to come down anytime soon.

 

[FlyingKiwi]

At some point after Tesla has transitioned from selling the promise of FSD and EAP, to selling the reality an accountant is going to point out that there are 10s or 100s of thousands of Teslas on the road capable of running FSD & EAP, and the marginal cost of sales of is ~$0. Once the initial rush of buying after FSD is released starts to wane significantly then deals will be offered.

 

[stopcrazypp]

At some point after Tesla has transitioned from selling the promise of FSD and EAP, to selling the reality an accountant is going to point out that there are 10s or 100s of thousands of Teslas on the road capable of running FSD & EAP, and the marginal cost of sales of is ~$0. Once the initial rush of buying after FSD is released starts to wane significantly then deals will be offered.

That depends largely on what competitors charge (and what the future option costs with inflation). AP used to cost only $2500, but Tesla raised it to $3000, then EAP to $5000. The current price for FSD may also be underpriced too depending on how much others will charge for their L4/L5 systems.

 

[Electroman]

My impression is that those who find EAP very valuable for their driving conditions fall into two categories: those who use it in heavy commute traffic for stress relief and those who find that it helps with fatigue on long road trips, with some overlap between the two of course.

Spot on observations..

 

[Sportstick]

Spot on observations..

This may help....

 

[Stirfelt]

I have no interest in EAP especially at the added cost.
If it came standard .... there would be occasions that I would use it ...... just as I do cruise control.

In the area I live, too often the road stripes are obscured by snow;
but most often the stripes have faded to the point they are hard to see in the best of circumstances. Impossible when it rains.
It seems there is always road construction, and the stripes have been painted over and temporary stripes painted that follow routes around barriers and barricade cones.

My greatest fear in driving is an encounter with a DUI driver.
I'd much rather see a system developed that disables a vehicle and safely parks it on the side of the road when the driver is impaired.

 

[DrivingRockies]

I'd much rather see a system developed that disables a vehicle and safely parks it on the side of the road when the driver is impaired.

How about one that drives the car for him/her? That's what they're working towards. There are baby steps along the way. EAP is one of them. Unfortunately they had to restart the programming with HW2, but it shouldn't ever have a step that far back again now that they have taken it in-house.

 

[davedavedave]

If you don't want to finance it, can't you put an extra $5k in the down payment instead of paying $6k a few weeks later?

Hmmm... thinking about the numbers, that's a great idea... Hmmm...

 

[AceSkywalker]

Autopilot - EAP / FSD will only go up. Plain and simple as that. Once FSD is up and running to a satisfactory level and is given the green light by regulators I can see enabling it costing north of $12-15,000. And people will pay for it. And those priced out of it will consider utilizing the Tesla fleet instead of privately owning a car.

 

[SlicedBr3ad]

Autopilot - EAP / FSD will only go up. Plain and simple as that. Once FSD is up and running to a satisfactory level and is given the green light by regulators I can see enabling it costing north of $12-15,000. And people will pay for it. And those priced out of it will consider utilizing the Tesla fleet instead of privately owning a car.

You'd be 100% correct if there weren't another 5 or even more major fsd development efforts in progress. Competition drives prices down and I believe waymo, not Tesla, may get to fsd first. It's even possible that it is going to become a mandatory feature like reverse camera and will be built into car price.

 

[Fred Thompson]

I would be more likely to purchase EAP (Enhanced Autopilot) and FSD (Full Self-Driving Capability) if I was able to transfer these option to a new Tesla in the future.