Want to extract this quote and highlight it - let those naysayers who have never seen AP in action read this and back off.
Elon Musk just tweeted about this thread a few hours ago: "Great rebuttal by a Tesla owner to those calling for Autopilot to be disabled. Was written with zero input from us. https://teslamotorsclub.com/tmc/threads/autopilot-note-to-drivers-and-consumer-reports.73715/…"
Just look at the comparison tests done by the magazines. For example try here: Semi-Autonomous Cars Compared! Tesla Model S vs. BMW 750i, Infiniti Q50S, and Mercedes-Benz S65 AMG - Feature
It's okay that your a huge "fan" of Tesla/AP that doesn't mean that those of us who have a different or more critical view are advocating its demise. Most enjoy testing it under different conditions but understand the deficiencies and know where it works and where it doesn't. I've been using it since day one.
I've read these before and we came out great but I'm talking about personal hands on experience under real conditions.
When you read the descriptions of the performance of each system and look at the test data I think it is clear that, in the basic area of ability to maintain a lane, the Tesla system works better than the others. My point was that the Lane Keep Assist system that is the best at staying in a lane is the on that is labeled beta. Besides, I think the magazine did a more scientific test than someone borrowing one of each and taking them out for a drive. Again, the system that tested best is the one that is labeled as beta.
One of the questions for me that has come to mind over the past week is why other auto makers aren’t speaking out in support for AP. Most of them are working on it in some form. One would hope they would help support Tesla in advancing AP/autonomous driving as a whole. Larry Page for example; He is not only working on autonomous driving with Google but is also a personal friend of Elon’s. I mean come on, I “get it” (why they don’t speak out. Not wanting to go down with the ship) but they SHOULD be supporting him. Come on Ford, GM, BMW, etc.… Now let’s speak about texting, or Pokémon Go for that matter… Texting is a well-known concern for driver’s safety, in that people are using it while driving and not paying attention to the road as they should be. And although the concerns about texting and driving have been raised in the past, said to be worse than drinking and driving, you no longer see it in the headlines. And it is by FAR more of a concern than a product like AP. Which is trying to help you drive more safely, not one that is distracting you from doing so. It was in no way designed, or intended to, help drivers or create safer roads like APs’ ultimate goal is. Pokémon Go is by far a bigger concern than AP, if the true concern is in regards to safety that is. It of course is offering absolutely no benefit towards safety. Yet people are “driving” around playing the game. (Yes I get it, one is designed for driving and the other is for entertainment, but they are both effecting safety.) People are walking/driving around blindly in/thru traffic playing the game. Heck, they say a positive of the game is that people are getting out and exercising (And I agree). Yet this morning I watched a young man riding his hover board down the street all awhile staring at his phone playing the game. Still we are not, yet, in anyway trying to demonize it and stop people from playing. But I question if it may not be at this time, simply because of the shear masses in which it is being played in, more of a safety concern than AP. You have around 80K of AP drivers and millions of Poke players. My entire point of this is to say maybe the level of scrutiny of AP over the last several days is being entirely over blown.
Okay, I think you are bringing up the "beta" label for a reason but you lost me. To me it doesn't matter what they call it that's not my issue. My only issue is because it's still a work in progress be extra diligent. Personal experience in local conditions, for me, is much more valuable.
Every single system in any vehicle you can buy/drive today can be described as a "work in progress". This is why we pay more money to get the newer versions every year. Tesla is also able to learn from your "personal experience" with the feature. As long as they are able to extrapolate useful data from this crowdsourcing and improve AP, it can be considered Beta.
My initial comment, which you replied to, was to point out that the hysteria over the term beta being applied to AP was unwarranted. I tried to do it with a bit of humor. People are taking beta to mean Tesla's AP is inferior to the other systems out there when it isn't. You replied questioning why I thought Tesla was better. I replied with a link to comparison testing. Again, Tesla's "beta" system ifs better than the released systems from other companies. If you read their manuals you even see the same comments such as inability to sense cross traffic, stationary objects or, in the case of Hyundai, trailers with unusually shipped cargo.
well thought out response to CR and the hysteria in the media about AP. I feel CR didn't actually ever try AP before jumping in and offering their opinion. I am an AP newbie, just returned from a 3000 mile road trip on our new MX. Driving with autopilot has been the most relaxing driving experience of my lifetime. It reacted quicker than me. With a little bit of common sense and hands on experience it was easy to figure out when not to rely on it. And to say the least, I had my hands on the wheel!!!
I don't recall my questioning why you thought Tesla was better than brand X and your link (post #26) was included in a quote from me about a different topic. That post was minimizing some of the AP gotcha's and after re-reading I thought maybe my response might be construed that I thought AP sucked so I posted again to clarify with the comment you quoted. I'm not going to go back and forth on this but I wanted to clarify so it would make sense.
It is amazing to know you can blow away just about everything else on the road with just a press of the accelerator, yet at least for me I just don't see the need to do it. Let the idiots in the Hyundai's and the Toyotas fly by at 90. I keep within the speed limit on AP. I suppose it is really elitist, but all those others on the road are just cars while I'm driving a Tesla. No wonder they hate us. ;-)
Currently halfway through a 2000 mile road trip in the X,and I can say that Autopilot is clearly better than manual lane-and-speed keeping. Better together is the best way to put it, because that's how it works best. When I'm not at my best, AP is there to tweak. When AP isn't doing its best, I tweak. The end result is a smoother ride and a more comfortable journey. I love my pre-AP Model S, but I don't know if it's going to be road tripping anytime soon.
This forum is littered with dozens or hundreds of posters who have reflected similar sentiments. Yet WSJ, CR and others who have chimed in on AP chose to ignore all that but focus on a handful of negative postings mostly from folks who have not driven with AP