Autopilot new owner question

[Mvass30]

Just took delivery of my Model X 90D from Tampa SC Thursday. Absolutely loving the car! Have a quick question and Looking for some feedback.

Took our first decent trip yesterday already. 3 1/2 drive to Daytona Beach, FL from Sarasota, FL.

My 2 main concerns.

1- On lightly paved highways even with decent markings the autopilot has a very hard time recognizing the lines. I was unable to use autopilot as it was focusing on the car in front of me VS the line markings. I could feel the car move with the car in front as it would move from side to side in the lane. I'm thinking this is just because the lane markings did not have enough contrast?

2- I am still a little freaked out with autopilot on the interstate at higher speeds. Everything seems perfect with a good flow. However, if I am going 80mhp and I come up on a traffic jam of much slower we or stopped cars I still feel like it isn't going to stop in time, or it's just going to slam on the brakes at the very end once close? Am I missing a gradual decrease of speed setting coming up on stopped traffic? I even had it set to 7 car lengths.

Any help would be much appreciated.

Pulled into the hotel and was treated like a king by the way. Lol. Had a crowd of about 30 people as soon as the FW doors opened.

Also got a VIP front parking spot under the cover right by the hotel doors in valet.

Thank you all!

 

[Chickenlittle]

Just took delivery of my Model X 90D from Tampa SC Thursday. Absolutely loving the car! Have a quick question and Looking for some feedback.

Took our first decent trip yesterday already. 3 1/2 drive to Daytona Beach, FL from Sarasota, FL.

My 2 main concerns.

1- On lightly paved highways even with decent markings the autopilot has a very hard time recognizing the lines. I was unable to use autopilot as it was focusing on the car in front of me VS the line markings. I could feel the car move with the car in front as it would move from side to side in the lane. I'm thinking this is just because the lane markings did not have enough contrast?

2- I am still a little freaked out with autopilot on the interstate at higher speeds. Everything seems perfect with a good flow. However, if I am going 80mhp and I come up on a traffic jam of much slower we or stopped cars I still feel like it isn't going to stop in time, or it's just going to slam on the brakes at the very end once close? Am I missing a gradual decrease of speed setting coming up on stopped traffic? I even had it set to 7 car lengths.

Any help would be much appreciated.

Pulled into the hotel and was treated like a king by the way. Lol. Had a crowd of about 30 people as soon as the FW doors opened.

Also got a VIP front parking spot under the cover right by the hotel doors in valet.

Thank you all!

I started with the ACC first. When comfortable with that after several days then added auto steer

 

[Trailblazer]

Just took delivery of my Model X 90D from Tampa SC Thursday. Absolutely loving the car! Have a quick question and Looking for some feedback.

Took our first decent trip yesterday already. 3 1/2 drive to Daytona Beach, FL from Sarasota, FL.

My 2 main concerns.

1- On lightly paved highways even with decent markings the autopilot has a very hard time recognizing the lines. I was unable to use autopilot as it was focusing on the car in front of me VS the line markings. I could feel the car move with the car in front as it would move from side to side in the lane. I'm thinking this is just because the lane markings did not have enough contrast?

2- I am still a little freaked out with autopilot on the interstate at higher speeds. Everything seems perfect with a good flow. However, if I am going 80mhp and I come up on a traffic jam of much slower we or stopped cars I still feel like it isn't going to stop in time, or it's just going to slam on the brakes at the very end once close? Am I missing a gradual decrease of speed setting coming up on stopped traffic? I even had it set to 7 car lengths.

Any help would be much appreciated.

Pulled into the hotel and was treated like a king by the way. Lol. Had a crowd of about 30 people as soon as the FW doors opened.

Also got a VIP front parking spot under the cover right by the hotel doors in valet.

Thank you all!

Congrats on your new car! You'll find a good bit of chatter on the forum about both of those questions, but here is a quick response:
1 - It's possible that the lack of contrast was a factor for you. In my experience, AP has done a great job even with pretty bad lane markings.
2 - This is a known issue with AP that is said to be much improved in the 8.0 firmware. The only caveat is that the software is not designed to detect stopped (non-moving) traffic. So you need to take over if you are approaching any object/car this is not moving and is a potential hazard. I believe this is spelled out in the car's manual. With slow-moving traffic, many have complained about the car waiting too long to brake; however, many have said that 8.0 handles this much more nicely.

 

[Mvass30]

Awesome feedback and exactly what I was hoping to here with a chance at an 8.0 modification. Thank you very much for the quick responses.

Forgot one question. I have read this many times as well. With autopilot I know right now it centers in the lane. Have seen rumors of 8.0 allowing you to cheat a little to one side or the other? Any known changes with that. As you all know that first semi-truck you go by on the interstate at 80 you want to cheat over a little when in the left lane for example to the left line marking.

Quick experience from our trip as well that may help some of you. We call the Hilton hotel on the way knowing they didn't have a charger. We told them we could plug into a basic plug and we were coming with a Tesla electrical vehicle. They said no problem, we have a plug right up front and we can plug your car in there. We all know the regular plug at the 110v does not much of anything. However, I used it as an excuse the get the car parked by itself and not in the normal parking lot near other cars. Worked like a charm!!!

By the way, it did give me about 45 mile charge overnight. Better than nothing right?

 

[Trailblazer]

Yes, 110v outlets at hotels are definitely better than nothing! Your question about AP cheating to one side of the lane in version 8.0 is a good one - I would love to hear some reports on this from those with 8.0 installed. Anyone?

 

[USMC_Mustang]

I haven't had 8.0 installed for long, but can confirm that it can "see" more vehicles across a broader path (e.g., three lanes) and deeper field of view (e.g., can see the car ahead of the car in front of you). As far as lane placement, I "believe" I can feel (but can't prove) refined lane placement when overtaking a vehicle or being overtaken due to the side-looking detectors than enable summon and auto-park. In other words, the Tesla sees cars on either side (demonstrated by the pulsating sensor "fan" in the dashboard pictogram) and provides slight lane-change adjustments to avoid lateral contact/collision. I would consider this anecdotal evidence, as I have no "proof" other than "seems like it."

 

[kort677]

do any of you really watch that little car in the dash rather looking ahead through the windshield? until that info is presented via a HUD, it is not very important to me.

 

[thimel]

Here is a good approach to learning autopilot. A flight instructor teaches Tesla Autopilot

 

[Electroman]

I would not use AP at 80 mph even at the best of lane markings. The reaction time needed at that high speed even for moderate curves is so little, I am sure sooner or later you will end up in a situation that AP cannot react as soon as it should. 70 is perfect on most highways. 75 when the lane markings are good with mild curves. I would not do 80 except perhaps in long straight stretches on deserted highways with ultra clear lane markings.

 

[Apricot]

do any of you really watch that little car in the dash rather looking ahead through the windshield? until that info is presented via a HUD, it is not very important to me.

Yeah I use it all the time. I don't stare at it for long stretches, but I regularly peek at it so I know what AP thinks is happening out there. So if a car cuts in, I peek at it to see if it noticed (it always has), or if the lane markings get light, I see if AP is still confident.

I do wish there were some UI way for AP to notify "hey I can't see the right lane markings", but it seems the only way is either to peek at the display regularly or just not worry until it tells you to put hands on the wheel...?