Did Tesla lose focus by making the Model 3 an autonomous car instead of a great EV?

[AnxietyRanger]

Thats funny.. Cameras need lights. No more then the the headlights and could need less with the right cameras. FSD is not AP2. They are different and will work differently. FSD will not need to see the lines on the street. I will use high def maps in combination with landmarks. It would still have problems on roads that have no landmarks at all that are completely covered in smooth snow, as in not depressed by cars driving on it and no lead cars. People would have problems with this situation as well.

It is true cameras need light, somewhat offset by their ability to see a wider range of that light than the human eye. In a car such as an AP2 Tesla, the car's headlights do not point into the direction of all the cameras - namely the side cameras do not have car's lights to help them out.

That said, a far bigger problem in the scenario @jsydanma points out is how easy cameras are to be obstructed. Unlike a human that can move their "cameras" (eyes/head) as well as use their hands etc. to clear out the view, stationary cameras in the sides and back of an AP2 Tesla have only heating to support them.

Anyone who regularly drives a car outside of the California type of weather understands the limitations that weather brings. People DO have problems with these situations all the time - the difference to those cameras is, they are equipped to handle those situations. I remain very sceptical of AP2 hardware suite's ability to ever drive itself in a normal range of winter weather.

Finally, the silliness of Tesla's/Elon's "autonomous cars don't need instrument clusters" or "you don't look at instruments clusters in a taxi" arguments are further underlined by the fact that not even in good weather will Model 3 have self-driving for a long time. Until then, people do need to be controlling the car - and for that they need instrumentation, e.g. speed.

Hopefully the middle screen will be at least workable. But it does seem like a risky move.

It doesnt matter because the hardware is the future.. the near future. Tesla does not put that hardware in there for you specifically, they put it in there for the safety features and for gathering data for the entire network of cars.

Reasons include PR and ease of manufacturing as well, I expect. Probably in rather large percentages... Putting AP hardware in every car is the kind of bold move disruptive companies love being known for.