I thought I would share that it might be a good idea to at least inform passengers of the capabilities of autopilot before actually using it. This is motivated by something that happened yesterday, for the safety of all involved:
I carpooled with a coworker yesterday and on our way home, I got in the carpool lane and turned on autopilot. My throat eventually got dry so I reached for some cough drops in the center console area and took my hands off the wheel to unwrap it. Eyes were on the road, of course (it's pretty simple to unwrap a cough drop without having to look at it). Out of the corner of my eye, I see said coworker glance over, he notices my hands are off the wheel (the car began to negotiate a VERY slight curve in the freeway) and begins looking extremely concerned.
We talk a few minutes later and he said he very nearly wanted to grab the steering wheel because he thought we were going to drive right into the center divider, which of course would have disengaged autosteer and probably given the both of us a good scare since I would not have been expecting it.
He's a Tesla enthusiast, and we've talked plenty about Tesla, the Model S, the Model 3, and even autopilot specifically. Heck, he's also test driven one at a Tesla store, and we also have a good personal relationship and know each other quite well, so at the very least I figured he would know the car could take care of itself and/or that I knew what I was doing. Guess in this day and age, one just can't make any assumptions. either that or he's a bit of a special cookie
I carpooled with a coworker yesterday and on our way home, I got in the carpool lane and turned on autopilot. My throat eventually got dry so I reached for some cough drops in the center console area and took my hands off the wheel to unwrap it. Eyes were on the road, of course (it's pretty simple to unwrap a cough drop without having to look at it). Out of the corner of my eye, I see said coworker glance over, he notices my hands are off the wheel (the car began to negotiate a VERY slight curve in the freeway) and begins looking extremely concerned.
We talk a few minutes later and he said he very nearly wanted to grab the steering wheel because he thought we were going to drive right into the center divider, which of course would have disengaged autosteer and probably given the both of us a good scare since I would not have been expecting it.
He's a Tesla enthusiast, and we've talked plenty about Tesla, the Model S, the Model 3, and even autopilot specifically. Heck, he's also test driven one at a Tesla store, and we also have a good personal relationship and know each other quite well, so at the very least I figured he would know the car could take care of itself and/or that I knew what I was doing. Guess in this day and age, one just can't make any assumptions. either that or he's a bit of a special cookie
