model3 FSD or autopilot for 300 miles commute one way

[commonmode]

Hi everyone, i want to ask if anyone has long distance commute experience with model 3?
I just got a job which is about 200 miles away from my current home. My wife doesn't want to move at all because her good job.
This 200 miles are all high way.
1. Is that possible to commute daily with a model 3 FSD or autopilot?
2. if it's too hard for daily commute, how about 1 or 2 commutes a week? i need to ask for work from home for a few days in this case. Any suggestions?
3. is autopilot enough or FSD is needed?
Thank you!

 

[commonmode]

home in Kingston, work in Binghamton, possible with model 3?

 

[Lindenwood]

Autopilot is honestly really solid and easily does 80+% of the work on my regular highway trips.

FSD sounds like it is getting really close, to the point your commute might genuinely be 6 hours a day doing meetings and building PowerPoints in the car in the not-too-distant future.

I am at 23k miles in <11 months of ownership, with a lot of road trips. The main thing I wish I had are the auto lane changes, but that hasn’t quite been worth $15k for me yet. But, given the daily requirement, it might be worth investing in the FSD.

 

[commonmode]

Autopilot is honestly really solid and easily does 80+% of the work on my regular highway trips.

FSD sounds like it is getting really close, to the point your commute might genuinely be 6 hours a day doing meetings and building PowerPoints in the car in the not-too-distant future.

I am at 23k miles in <11 months of ownership, with a lot of road trips. The main thing I wish I had are the auto lane changes, but that hasn’t quite been worth $15k for me yet. But, given the daily requirement, it might be worth investing in the FSD.

View attachment 927029

So, you are doing about 100 miles each day? i need to do 400 miles each day, i don't think 400 miles are sustainable, but how about doing the commute 2 times a week, do you think it's sustainable?

 

[brkaus]

What car do you have now? How do you feel about driving the distance in that?

AP isn’t some magic that makes a drive enjoyable. Still need hands on the wheel and paying attention.

 

[Lindenwood]

So, you are doing about 100 miles each day? i need to do 400 miles each day, i don't think 400 miles are sustainable, but how about doing the commute 2 times a week, do you think it's sustainable?

My commute is only ~12 miles each way, but we do a lot of weekend road trips. Your situation honestly sounds completely miserable without a teleportation machine, and I’d certainly pursue telework as much as possible. But, if I had to do it a Tesla would absolutely be at the top of the list.

You don’t appreciate how much work AP does until you don’t have it.

 

[Tam]

1. Is that possible to commute daily with a model 3 FSD or autopilot?

Yes. If your Model 3 LR is rated at 358 miles, you can do 200 miles driving conservatively in summer, but you might barely make it for sub-zero winter.

My rule of thumb is to get 100 more miles on the battery.

That means when I need to drive 200 miles, I won't leave until the battery gauge is 300.

In your case, you need a charger at work to fill it up to at least 300 miles for the 200-mile trip home.

2. if it's too hard for daily commute, how about 1 or 2 commutes a week? i need to ask for work from home for a few days in this case. Any suggestions?

Sounds good to me.

3. is autopilot enough or FSD is needed?

I would say Autopilot is good enough for highways.

FSD adds Navigation on Autopilot so it can change lanes on its own but I don't use it because it can make irrational lane changes. More work for me to monitor and correct its mistakes.

---
Some doctors drive from Los Angeles and Orange County to work in my small town (200 miles away.) Not daily, but maybe twice a week or just weekly on ICE.

 

[XPsionic]

Autopilot will be fine.

But you've gotta be kidding if you think you could do this commute more than like once a week. There's border crossing both ways as well??

We're talking about minimum 6 hours 20 minutes of driving, plus working all day, plus border crossings and waits both ways.

You would also need a dedicated L2 charging spot to replenish the battery at work, 8 hours would just barely charge enough for the drive @6kw speed.

 

[blackT3$!@]

My wife doesn't want to move at all because her good job.

Rent a bedroom near your new work location and keep your current vehicle. Your quality of like is going to drop significantly commuting that distance everyday.

 

[Sophias_dad]

You probably couldn't pay me enough to drive ~six hours a day. Your marriage will likely suffer. Taking the IRS (expensive) version of mileage to money conversion, that's about $200 a day, or $40k per year, and that's ignoring the quality of life you are giving up by spending 25% of every workday in the car. During workdays your life will literally be "Get up. drive to work, drive home, get in bed"

I second the idea that you should either get an apartment/whatever near work and stay there during much of the week(yes, marriage will suffer from this too), work from home four+ days a week, just not take the job, or convince the wife to move.

Ok, maybe you could pay me enough to take the job, but I'd be buying a private plane and flying the route instead of driving. Even at the ~40k per year in value spent driving AND the tremendous value of six hours per day, I'd wager you could come out ahead by flying(presuming there are airports on each end that are appropriate). I'm also unclear about the logistics of international private flying, but I bet they complicate matters further.

 

[NeverGoingBack]

I got EAP for my 11 hour trip every few weeks to see the grandkids. I like it. “Full” FSD doesn’t add anything additional for highway driving.

 

[dn325ci]

Man, I beg you to do something different than that plan. There is no way that commute is not going to take a serious toll on every area of your life. There is no amount of money worth it. I drive 45K a year, have no kids at home, and it's already too much.

 

[medphys3]

Don't forget that not everyone likes the Model 3 seats. You might be one of those and then you'd be upside down in an expensive car that you hate driving.

And that drive will be horrible, not to mention trying to charge fully at work.

 

[The_Observer]

Assuming this is your typical 8 hour job + 1 hour lunch, this will take about total of 15-16 hours a day away from home, which basically leaves you with no time at all for anything besides sleeping.

This is too ridiculous of a commute, if you really have to do it, I would not do it no more than once a week maximum, ideally once a month. Are there any other potential commute options such as rail/bus? Autopilot will help reduce stress with driving, but at 3 hours one way you will be still mentally very drained. Consider moving closer to the job, or find a new job altogether for your other options.

Car wise, neither any of the Model 3 trims will be enough for you to go back and forth, you will have to stay at a supercharger for a bit of time, which adds up even more time needed to get home.

 

[Zacster]

Also take into account the weather. That can be a brutal drive with lake effect snow. And it gets cold too. You already know that I'm sure.

 

[jjrandorin]

Whether the OP uses autopilot or FSD, this drive is also likely to require charging stops in the middle of it during bad weather / cold weather times. There certainly isnt any reason to buy a Tesla to make that drive, its not going to make it any more pleasurable.

Since the OP states "I just got a job....." it sounds like they are already doing this commute, so they should continue on in whatever vehicle they agreed to the job in, buying a Tesla for it isnt going to help in the slightest.

 

[E90alex]

Autopilot/FSD aside, that’s a very long commute. Besides the quality of life factors mentioned, you will likely just barely make that drive in ideal conditions with either the Model 3 RWD at 100% charge or Performance at 90% charge.

You will probably have to charge mid way in each direction in the winter. If your work does not have charging then you will have to do a couple supercharging sessions to get home.

A long range will give your more cushion, but it’s not currently available to order. Also keep in mind Performance model comes with summer tires so you need to budget for winter tires and wheels.

 

[gearchruncher]

My concern is that the OP appears focused on AP or FSD, which makes me think they are considering if AP/FSD will make the driver easier or more tolerable. These are both nice helpers, but they don't let the driver sleep or anything, so they really shouldn't be a primary consideration.

 

[XPsionic]

My concern is that the OP appears focused on AP or FSD, which makes me think they are considering if AP/FSD will make the driver easier or more tolerable. These are both nice helpers, but they don't let the driver sleep or anything, so they really shouldn't be a primary consideration.

OP's question gives me those unsettling vibes of news articles where people put a weight on the steering wheel and go to sleep in their Teslas. Not saying OP's going to do that, but perhaps the public have the misconception that AP or FSD is handsfree tech that lets you zone out for hours on end. It isn't like that yet as of April 2023.

 

[Sophias_dad]

OP's question gives me those unsettling vibes of news articles where people put a weight on the steering wheel and go to sleep in their Teslas. Not saying OP's going to do that, but perhaps the public have the misconception that AP or FSD is handsfree tech that lets you zone out for hours on end. It isn't like that yet as of April 2023.

To add to that, as I understand it Tesla was getting smarter about detecting steering wheel weights.