I think I just wasted $7,000 on FSD?

[WarEagleX]

I took my P3D+ out for a two-hour shakedown ride on the highway and I had so much fun that I realized that I will seldom use FSD - no matter how cool it is. The reason is that this is indeed a driver's car - and I consider myself to be a car snob having owned Porsche, BMW and Benz - and having driven them, shall we say, with spirit.

The thing that was most surprising was an immediate sense of trust. The car is easy to predict, even on wet roads, it corners like a champ and powers out of turns like a supercar. This is to say nothing of the 0-100 mph performance. The car is eager to please, rock-solid and confident. I am looking forward to getting it out to the track to see what 160+ mph feels like

Anyhoo - After I got back from my ride, I noticed two things. 1. I didn't use the FSD features once. 2. My face hurt from smiling.

Now I know longtime Tesla owners are like - "yeah, no $h!t, welcome to the club newbie." But please allow a newbie a few more weeks of fanboyish exuberance before it all settles down and I find something to complain about.

 

[Matsayz]

Enjoy the car and 0-... runs. I too paid for FSD and I think it’s come in handy for road trips which we do quite a bit and my 60mile commute all highway. AP reduces fatigue while driving long stretches I found. The Summon stuff in my opinion it’s gimmicky and fun when it works first time and everyone is watching... Hopefully something more meaningful comes out of FSD besides trash cans.

 

[VQTRVA]

It's a very good driver's car. Albeit very rigid & not as pliable around quick short curves as some other cars.
That said, as an investment - when FSD comes on line & it's when not if - the car will provide a different kind of grin.

 

[hydro 481]

It’s just the honeymoon phase. A lot of husbands feel the same way about their wives when they first get married.

 

[hari-bhari]

after the excitement wears off you'll appreciate autopilot and FSD during highway cruises or while you're sitting in traffic or while you're just plain tired

 

[M3FNATIK]

after the excitement wears off you'll appreciate autopilot and FSD during highway cruises or while you're sitting in traffic or while you're just plain tired

Exactly...especially after a long night out on the town or a big dinner and afterwards you're feeling sleepy hahah

 

[ellett]

I just did 300 miles on the California Interstates today, and even though the M3 is a blast to drive, on an Interstate, it eventually becomes boring. I alternate between TACC and full FSD when I'm caravanning in a stream of traffic, and both modes are sanity savers when traffic turns into stop and go.

 

[WilliamG]

I just did 300 miles on the California Interstates today, and even though the M3 is a blast to drive, on an Interstate, it eventually becomes boring. I alternate between TACC and Autopilot when I'm caravanning in a stream of traffic, and both modes are sanity savers when traffic turns into stop and go.

Fixed that for you.

 

[Johnny Mac]

I don’t think you wasted money on FSD. You wasted your time with that logo though.

 

[Slumpey326]

I dont think you wasted your money, I just think FSD is not truly ready for prime time and wont be for many years...

 

[inikkor]

You screwed up for a different reason. At best FSD is just a promise.

 

[golfcart]

Anyhoo - After I got back from my ride, I noticed two things. 1. I didn't use the FSD features once. 2. My face hurt from smiling.

Same experience here. I do use Autopilot (lane keep and adaptive cruise) on long trips but not on my daily commute and I never really use any of the "FSD" features for long because I don't really like how they worked. Summon sucked the few times I tried it, I had a pretty sketchy experience the first time the car tried to pass on its own, and it is not ready to drive by itself around town.

Plus, like you said, the car is fun to drive. Why would I get a P3D+ with performance suspension, sticky tires, and 450+ hp then let the computer drive for me? Might as well get a Prius for that.

I got the car used with FSD so I can't complain but if I bought it new I would not have spent $7k for what little extra it does. Honestly, if they offered me a buyback on FSD today I would take it in a heartbeat. Maybe there will be a lawsuit and I'll get that opportunity. If "feature complete" FSD was really released to early adopters by the end of last year then there will be a lot of unhappy folks IMO. I haven't heard any news about cars "conducting trips with no action required by the person in the drivers seat" (which was what Tesla originally promised).

 

[IDRVSLO]

I took my P3D+ out for a two-hour shakedown ride on the highway and I had so much fun that I realized that I will seldom use FSD - no matter how cool it is. The reason is that this is indeed a driver's car - and I consider myself to be a car snob having owned Porsche, BMW and Benz - and having driven them, shall we say, with spirit.

The thing that was most surprising was an immediate sense of trust. The car is easy to predict, even on wet roads, it corners like a champ and powers out of turns like a supercar. This is to say nothing of the 0-100 mph performance. The car is eager to please, rock-solid and confident. I am looking forward to getting it out to the track to see what 160+ mph feels like

Anyhoo - After I got back from my ride, I noticed two things. 1. I didn't use the FSD features once. 2. My face hurt from smiling.

Now I know longtime Tesla owners are like - "yeah, no $h!t, welcome to the club newbie." But please allow a newbie a few more weeks of fanboyish exuberance before it all settles down and I find something to complain about.

For the reasons you listed I didn’t order FSD for the 3. I do regret not getting it for the X as it’s annoying to have to come off autopilot to switch lanes when we’re on our monthly LA trips. I could still get it but seeing it as a one time 7k charge makes me cringe... should have just folded it into the car payment.

 

[rdcisneros3]

I haven't heard any news about cars "conducting trips with no action required by the person in the drivers seat" (which was what Tesla originally promised).

That's not what they promised it would do at the time you (or anyone else) purchased it.

 

[DMLou]

You screwed up for a different reason. At best FSD is just a promise.

That's why I didn't get it. I'm a software guy myself (though not in this particular field) and I know FSD is a freaking hard problem to figure out. I'm not going to plunk down $7000 up front for a feature that may never be ready for use while I still own the car.

If and when they get it working acceptably well while I still plan to hold on to the car for a good bit longer, then I may upgrade to it or purchase a new car with FSD enabled, depending on the circumstances.

 

[inikkor]

The real problem with buying a promised software today is the FSD is not a normal software license that you can install and use on different vehicles. It is linked to the car! If anything happens to the car, while waiting for the promised land you loose the "license" without ever had a chance to use it. A pretty hard pill to swallow in my book.

 

[Zextraterrestrial]

you can still have some fun with summon
just be careful with it

 

[EVDRVN]

The real problem with buying a promised software today is the FSD is not a normal software license that you can install and use on different vehicles. It is linked to the car! If anything happens to the car, while waiting for the promised land you loose the "license" without ever had a chance to use it. A pretty hard pill to swallow in my book.

If one divides the number of years they own the car with the price of FSD when it is fully functional it becomes very expensive to own per year. Some may sell their cars and have one year of use for $7K. Ouch.

 

[Avid]

You'll be glad to have it on long drives.

 

[TLLMRRJ]

The real problem with buying a promised software today is the FSD is not a normal software license that you can install and use on different vehicles. It is linked to the car! If anything happens to the car, while waiting for the promised land you loose the "license" without ever had a chance to use it. A pretty hard pill to swallow in my book.

I am going on record here that FSD will continue to improve and in about 5 more years it will be determine that it's just not going to work taking the approach they have been, so FSD will have to be completely reimagined, and/or governments will lose their patience with self-driving and ban it after some important people are killed by it.

One YouTuber came up with the only good justification IMO for buying FSD now which is just the fun of being part of this deadly experiment, but not actually getting a working product for your money.

It will be interesting to see what happens, but no way am I going to pay $7K for the fun of the experiment. I expect to at least get free product to be a guinea pig.

If you think I am way off base, ask yourself, knowing what you have experienced with AP and FSD, how long it would take for you to feel comfortable riding in the back of a Model 3 with no driver as you head down some pretty hairy city freeways and difficult construction zones in bad weather conditions.

Fortunately, I don't think the stock price or future of Tesla is dependent on FSD working to the point that RoboTaxi's will be a reality.