Autopilot - I finally caved.

[Gray468]

I purchased a Jun 2017 built new S 100D 20 months ago with everything except Ludicrous or the cold climate package. I really like the autopilot and have enjoyed the software upgrades.

Almost immediately, I left on a 49 day road trip from California to Halifax and back. Used the auto steer and cruise a lot. It was quite unnerving for the first few thousand miles till I stumbled on the setting to increase the car ahead range. It was set at 1. I spent a long time assuming Tesla drivers were ice cold aggressive drivers given what they seemed to accept as reasonable follow distance in cruise control.

The other thing that still bugs me to this day day is how indifferent the car is to the distance it chooses to be away from 18 wheelers when passing them on the highway. It does seem to keep to the center when I look at the instrument panel, but mark 1 eyeball suggests the car actually creeps towards the truck rather than drift more to the left side of the lane. After 25k miles I am somewhat used to it. Passengers cover their eyes and plead for me to take manual control.

Anyone else bothered by that? Or is this the place where you tell me there is a setting for that distance too?

 

[Gray468]

Glad to hear you are enjoying AP!

LOL, prepare for more pain, as when HW3 is soon released [a 10x to 20x improvement in processing power, enabling use of all cameras at full resolution and frame rates] you will *need* to get FSD too!

I suppose there is another thread for this question..... So you don’t believe Tesla will upgrade the hardware for those of us that invested by buying the complete promise of AP years before it will deploy?

 

[starmanj]

I agree, it baffles me why Tesla does not mimic human behavior more--not bad human behavior, but behaviors that scare the crap out of us. When a big semi is on the right, humans will bear to the left just to give it some room. Or try to get away from a semi when it's next to us. The neural net should be weighted for this at least a bit.

The other thing that still bugs me to this day day is how indifferent the car is to the distance it chooses to be away from 18 wheelers when passing them on the highway. It does seem to keep to the center when I look at the instrument panel, but mark 1 eyeball suggests the car actually creeps towards the truck rather than drift more to the left side of the lane. After 25k miles I am somewhat used to it. Passengers cover their eyes and plead for me to take manual control.

Anyone else bothered by that? Or is this the place where you tell me there is a setting for that distance too?

 

[OPRCE]

Anyone else bothered by that? Or is this the place where you tell me there is a setting for that distance too?

Yes, you're not alone there, also no setting except to imagine it improves millimetrically with each update.

I suppose there is another thread for this question..... So you don’t believe Tesla will upgrade the hardware for those of us that invested by buying the complete promise of AP years before it will deploy?

Musk has said those who pay for FSD will get the HW3 retrofit for free, otherwise presumably he will want to charge for it. How much is an open question.

 

[Bob M]

I have only had my car for a couple of weeks and am still trying to absorb many of the new features, including those included in the trial. When I push the right hand lever down once while driving ( I think once, maybe twice for the auto steer,) the car will follow the car in front, keeping a distance, then come to a full stop when it does. However, when I come to a red light with no one in front of me I am sure it will go right through the light without stopping. I just heard today that I have to turn on autopilot while in navigation to get a bunch more features? I haven’t received any updates since I got the car and I thing the last update is dated in 2018. What features should I have before and after a new update?

 

[Gray468]

Musk has said those who pay for FSD will get the HW3 retrofit for free, otherwise presumably he will want to charge for it. How much is an open question.

I am not fully versed in the acronyms. Yes...I bought EAP and FSD. So I shall patiently wait for the free upgrade.

Is it inappropriate to admit I would be willing to pay a bit more to get HW3? I read somewhere there is a universal gotcha in the Tesla promise in that Tesla relied on overcoming the existing regulatory challenges. Seems reasonable. You can’t budget for unknown requirements that are not even conceived till many years down the line. Well, if you try, it is not cost estimating, it is gambling. I am not interested in punishing Tesla.

 

[Chancellor32]

I have only had my car for a couple of weeks and am still trying to absorb many of the new features, including those included in the trial. When I push the right hand lever down once while driving ( I think once, maybe twice for the auto steer,) the car will follow the car in front, keeping a distance, then come to a full stop when it does. However, when I come to a red light with no one in front of me I am sure it will go right through the light without stopping. I just heard today that I have to turn on autopilot while in navigation to get a bunch more features? I haven’t received any updates since I got the car and I thing the last update is dated in 2018. What features should I have before and after a new update?

This right here is why we have so many nags now. Please don’t use a system until you understand what it does/doesn’t do. EAP will not stop at a red light.

 

[Bob M]

Cruise control? I have owned a Volt for 3 years and it took me a while to learn all the whistles and bells, but while I am willing to concede that the owner’s manual is mostly technically correct, it is not that user friendly more examples or maybe a video tutorial would have been so helpful. Just my vote.

 

[Bob M]

I agree, it baffles me why Tesla does not mimic human behavior more--not bad human behavior, but behaviors that scare the crap out of us. When a big semi is on the right, humans will bear to the left just to give it some room. Or try to get away from a semi when it's next to us. The neural net should be weighted for this at least a bit.

I was also a bit scared by the auto steer behavior. I tend to guide to the left or right side to lower my chances of contact with cars. I will stay more left in the left lane on a 4 lane hw and guide right on a 2 or 4 lane hw (unless there are parked cars and then I will stay center lane). I don’t think it’s my imagination that the car seems to move a bit towards traffic before it centers itself. My wife noticed this too and we were hoping that the car had a learning function where it could incorporate our driving habits where they contribute to safety.

 

[Bob M]

This right here is why we have so many nags now. Please don’t use a system until you understand what it does/doesn’t do. EAP will not stop at a red light.

I wouldn’t have even known how to turn on these more complex functions had I not read the manual. I am saying that the manual could have been more user friendly on the critical points. Here’s where one of those video tutorials would have been appreciated. I did take the time to come here to gain more practical info. “What is a “nag” in this context?

 

[Gray468]

EAP will not stop at a red light.

Correct. But it will “soon”. THAT will be interesting. We have a round about close to our house. That will be even more interesting (apparently to be deployed with the traffic light recognition).

Tesla Autopilot is ‘soon’ going to support traffic lights, roundabouts, and full self-driving, says Elon Musk

 

[kemble54]

I just paid ~$7,500 (after tax) for EAP last week. Today, Tesla.com is showing $4,000 for EAP if purchased after you get the car. Uhhh... what?! Y’all think there’s any chance I can get a little refund??

 

[ord3r]

I just paid ~$7,500 (after tax) for EAP last week. Today, Tesla.com is showing $4,000 for EAP if purchased after you get the car. Uhhh... what?! Y’all think there’s any chance I can get a little refund??

The 4,000 Autopilot you see now does not inlcude 'enhanced' features. So that 4,000 woudn't get you summon, nav on autopilot, and autopark.

Whether those are worth 3k to you however, I don't know.

 

[Thomas Edison]

I just paid ~$7,500 (after tax) for EAP last week. Today, Tesla.com is showing $4,000 for EAP if purchased after you get the car. Uhhh... what?! Y’all think there’s any chance I can get a little refund??

You purchased EAP for $7.5k, The product you speak of for $4k is AP. You got your E for the difference.

 

[Knightshade]

Correct. But it will “soon”. THAT will be interesting. We have a round about close to our house. That will be even more interesting (apparently to be deployed with the traffic light recognition).

Tesla Autopilot is ‘soon’ going to support traffic lights, roundabouts, and full self-driving, says Elon Musk

Nope- those require FSD.

 

[Scoutniagara]

I've had my car for right at 6 months and didn't buy EAP upfront. After having the equivalent of TACC in my wife's Expedition, not having it in my Tesla became a liability. I have had a couple instances where I'd be driving the Tesla in cruise control only to get up on someones tail in front of me before remembering it's not going to prevent me from rear-ending someone at 70 mph. YIKES.

So, I finally caved while recently charging at a Supercharger and bought EAP through my online account. First, that was quick! Thought it was going to take a while to download, but the upgrade was INSTANT. Very impressive.

But the most impressive part is the Autosteer I know this is old news to most of you, but man what technology! I have never ridden in a Tesla with EAP before, so to use it just minutes after upgrading was so cool. The TACC is nice too, but seems like that should be included with standard equipment. Anyway, nice to finally join the crowd.

Just wish I had bought it when I got the car and saved a few grand. $7k hurts.

And now, that price will be even lower.

 

[Scoutniagara]

I've had my car for right at 6 months and didn't buy EAP upfront. After having the equivalent of TACC in my wife's Expedition, not having it in my Tesla became a liability. I have had a couple instances where I'd be driving the Tesla in cruise control only to get up on someones tail in front of me before remembering it's not going to prevent me from rear-ending someone at 70 mph. YIKES.

So, I finally caved while recently charging at a Supercharger and bought EAP through my online account. First, that was quick! Thought it was going to take a while to download, but the upgrade was INSTANT. Very impressive.

But the most impressive part is the Autosteer I know this is old news to most of you, but man what technology! I have never ridden in a Tesla with EAP before, so to use it just minutes after upgrading was so cool. The TACC is nice too, but seems like that should be included with standard equipment. Anyway, nice to finally join the crowd.

Just wish I had bought it when I got the car and saved a few grand. $7k hurts.

 

[RC2785]

I just paid ~$7,500 (after tax) for EAP last week. Today, Tesla.com is showing $4,000 for EAP if purchased after you get the car. Uhhh... what?! Y’all think there’s any chance I can get a little refund??

the $7500 EAP you bought is not the same as the $4000 AP currently offered. The current $4000 AP does not come with summon (and advanced summon in the future), navigate on autopilot, and park assist.

 

[Elmexiken]

Welcome to the smart owners club. I don’t even think the car is worth owning without AP. But with it? Greatest daily driver in automotive history at any price.

Depends on your commute. I don't use the freeway 90% of the time for a commute, so EAP had very little value to me.

 

[dewittbo]

I commute just 5 miles to work on city streets, and have begun to love using the Traffic Aware Cruise Control now that I know it will bring the car to a complete stop at intersections when the car ahead of me stops; and even better--as long as I don't step on the brake--it will start moving again by itself once the car ahead starts moving.

But, I have found that one must remain very vigilant when using TACC in city traffic (duh), because there are times when it can throw you a curve (so to speak). For example, I have noticed that if the car ahead of you slows down to make a turn at an intersection, the Tesla will slow down, too, but when the car ahead goes into its turn, the Tesla seems to interpret that maneuver as a car cutting across your line of travel in front of you and slams on the brakes to avoid a potential collision. This has caught me off-guard several times (and discombobulates any vehicle that might be behind me before I can quickly apply the accelerator again). So I disengage TACC whenever that situation is about to occur and take over manual control.

Another situation where it can be disconcerting is when you approach a stop light following a car and begin to slow down, then move into a turn lane to make a right-hand turn where there is no car in front of you. The Tesla will speed up suddenly because it 'sees' a clear lane in front of you exactly when you want to slow down even more in order to make the turn, requiring a quick application of the brake. So, I have learned to disengage TACC in this situation to avoid that problem.

Needless to say, I don't employ TACC in the city when my wife is in the car with me because it unnerves her.