AutoPilot Education at Delivery

[RamshakleZ]

I am starting to get a little concerned about the lack of information Tesla provides about AutoPilot at delivery. On various Facebook groups I'm member of I see many people taking delivery of their Model 3 and thinking that it is fully self driving (they paid for the full self driving package)... and then asking the FB Group what they are doing wrong and why their AP isn't working. Hell, one guy almost ran a red light because he thought the car would see the light and stop!!!

Model S owners are typically more engaged and knowledgable of what Tesla can/cannot do but the mass market (Model 3) isn't always as educated on the history and capabilities of Tesla.

Wouldn't it be prudent for Tesla to explain what it can and cannot do (especially if someone purchased the full self driving package and with all of the news stories of people blaming AutoPilot for their poor driving)? They currently only show you how to turn it on/off and nothing more. Sure, the info is there if someone wants to learn (explained on the option at purchase, in the user manual, etc)... but people don't always read details when buying a car. They should but they don't.

 

[xyeahtony]

idk about others but the weeks before I got my car, I got so excited I watched every youtube video on teslas and autopilot and charging and everything to educate myself. it truly amazes me people are buying $80k+ cars and doing zero research before delivery.

 

[RamshakleZ]

They aren't buying $80k cars. These are Model 3 people who aren't doing their research like us Model S folks are.

 

[Brettski]

They aren't buying $80k cars. These are Model 3 people who aren't doing their research like us Model S folks are.

Actually, model 3 buyers have had a few years to study and think about this.......

 

[Az_Rael]

They aren't buying $80k cars. These are Model 3 people who aren't doing their research like us Model S folks are.

I have heard of several Model S buyers who also thought AP was essentially self driving. I don't think it is related to the price of the car at all. If you are buying in the $50k price range (current model 3s) vs the $80k price range that is still in the upper echelon of the car buying public.

 

[Uncle Paul]

I remember an article when horses first began riding down the streets...Chaos with Women and Children being trampled.

Then came horses and buggies. No stop signs, no signal lights, no speed limits...again Chaos with daily accidents.

Then the first ICE and steem vehicles. Another Chaos. The loud and backfiring ICE vehicles frightened the horses and they bolted. People thrown off. People did not have any education on how to drive these horseless carriages and there were few places to buy a few bottles of gasoline. Burnt karosene in lights or glowing candles.

Then the quiet EVs of the day. People walking down the streets could not hear them coming, and worried about being run over by those durn things.

Laws evolved, people got more educated, vehicles became more common, and the world was changed forever.

Same ol', same ol'

 

[bmah]

They aren't buying $80k cars. These are Model 3 people who aren't doing their research like us Model S folks are.

Please don't stereotype "Model 3 people" and "Model S folks". Some of those Model 3 owners (or owners to be) have been eagerly following Tesla Motors since before the Roadster. And I've seen Model S and Model X owners be pretty ignorant about what AutoPilot is and what it can and can't do. This issue of AutoPilot education is not specific to any model of car. It's an problem about a complex system, outside the common experience of new Tesla drivers, with nuances that can't be conveyed in the astonishingly short briefing that a new owner gets while the car is just sitting in the delivery center.

Bruce.

 

[buttershrimp]

Please don't stereotype "Model 3 people" and "Model S folks". Some of those Model 3 owners (or owners to be) have been eagerly following Tesla Motors since before the Roadster. And I've seen Model S and Model X owners be pretty ignorant about what AutoPilot is and what it can and can't do. This issue of AutoPilot education is not specific to any model of car. It's an problem about a complex system, outside the common experience of new Tesla drivers, with nuances that can't be conveyed in the astonishingly short briefing that a new owner gets while the car is just sitting in the delivery center.

Bruce.

LOL, I wonder what @TEG has to say after 20,000 posts and just getting his first Tesla!

 

[Tam]

It's a balance between:


scaring your customers away (your Autopilot can kill you with a slam into a Mountain View concrete divider)

and

keeping your customers happy with pleasant thought (your Autopilot keeps your car in lane so much better than human can).

 

[bmah]

LOL, I wonder what @TEG has to say after 20,000 posts and just getting his first Tesla!

Hehe. @TEG is one of two people I had in mind.

Expanding a little more on the training thing: If I were to try to teach someone how to use AutoPilot (especially the auto-steering part), I'd start with a walk-around of the car, to show where all the hardware sensors are (so you know what the car can sense...remember it'll be different across AP1, AP2, pre-refresh S vs. post-refresh S), and a brief about what exactly auto-steering and TACC are used for, and what environments they are designed to be used in. Then I'd demonstrate how I drive with auto-steering, including where I put my hands and feet and why, visual scan, how to anticipate situations that might cause problems, etc. Then I'd have them hop behind the wheel and do that themselves, so they know how to be safe and how it feels. For the pilots in the room, this is basically ground instruction plus a little dual instruction time.

Alas, this kind of hands-on instruction can't be done at delivery because the AP system isn't even calibrated for autosteer on a new car until well after it's left the delivery center.

Bruce.

 

[TEG]

Hehe. @TEG is one of two people I had in mind.

So I am not exactly a typical case, or the best to ask about autopilot training.

#1: I did NOT order any TACC or autopilot on my Model 3. My budget was stretched to the max, and I just could not afford it. They offered me no instruction at pick-up perhaps because I didn't have TACC/autopilot configured.
#2: The only time I have driven a Tesla on autopilot is when I borrowed a friend's Model 3 (with autopilot) before I got mine (without.)
Out of curiosity, I tried his autopilot just to gawk at what it does... It scared me a few times even in the short time I used it. I quickly learned it couldn't do some things I tried such as engaging right while trying to merge onto a freeway. (In that case it tried to turn right into a car beside me and I had to yank it back.)

I am currently of the opinion that it is best used on boring, long, uniform, well marked highways with not much going on other than staying in the lane and maintaining speed. For instance, on a long drive down highway 5 between SF and LA.

I am planing some longer road trips in the next few months, and I am going to miss having autosteer when I do that, but the car is still so pleasant to drive, that it should be fairly relaxing even though I have to do all the driving myself.

 

[EldestOyster]

If I were to try to teach someone how to use AutoPilot (especially the auto-steering part), I'd start with a walk-around of the car, to show where all the hardware sensors are...

I like this, especially the sensor tour. They could also give them a copy of PapaFox's "Flight instructor teaches Autopilot" post.

They currently only show you how to turn it on/off and nothing more.

That's not true. They also show you where to hit the "I Agree" button.

I am reminded of a story that once automation came to the Navy's aircraft, they all started hitting the deck of the carrier in the same spot, putting a big dent there. I wonder if we are going to wear grooves down the middle of the highway lanes?

 

[cwerdna]

I have heard of several Model S buyers who also thought AP was essentially self driving. I don't think it is related to the price of the car at all.

Yep. It doesn't help that we've heard cases (like at Ordered an X. Declined FSD. Is this a mistake?) of a sales critter overselling AP's capabilities.

If the delivery person is just as poorly trained and has just as much inexperience, it won't help. And, given how Tesla really needs to push vehicles out to customers FAST, too much "education" esp. at delivery time with a totally unfamiliar car will not scale and will slow down the process. And, it could be: in one ear and out the other, due to info overload and the customer wanting to just leave w/their car.

This is why at Phone Distracted Driver on Autopilot Slams into Firetruck I suggested MANDATORY audio recordings that must be listened to before AP activation is even allowed.

We've already seen so cases of non-Model 3 AP crashes into stopped vehicles. It seems likely those folks were unaware of system limitations.

 

[ArbitrageMan]

Two comments

1. During my test drive, I noted the language the owner adviser used when talking about AP. 'It is not self driving, it is to enhance your driving of the car.' I think they're using the right words, some people just aren't listening.

2. He did say, in the future, the car is going to be able to come and pick you up, drive you to your destination, and then go and park itself. He said, 'we expect that to be available in a year and a half to two years.' That surprised me because I think there is huge gap between where we are today and FSD.