My assessment of Version 9 autopilot

[TI_LEG]

Today, I went out the my 3, and autopilot was gone. 30 day trial over. I kind of miss it. It felt like the car had lost a part of its personality.

But do I miss it enough to pay $5885 (with tax)? No. But for a $50 a month subscription, yes.

They charge tax for the EAP license? I work in IT and if I remember correctly we don't pay tax for software if we don't receive media (Download instead of CDROM). We went through a whole tax review and recovered a bunch of tax money. Maybe it only applies to corporations?

 

[timk225]

They are probably charging for the R&D costs, not the software itself. The programming is already in the car, it's just a very expensive way to change a 0 to a 1 in the computer to enable it.

 

[jsrawa]

I have a 120 mile round trip commute 5 x week. I’m currently about halfway through the trial and I have to admit it does decrease the burden of such a long commute especially when there is stop and go traffic on the freeway. I’m still torn whether it is worth the $5500.... I’m fully capable of driving and $5500 isn’t cheap.

 

[Electroman]

I have a 120 mile round trip commute 5 x week. I’m currently about halfway through the trial and I have to admit it does decrease the burden of such a long commute especially when there is stop and go traffic on the freeway. I’m still torn whether it is worth the $5500.... I’m fully capable of driving and $5500 isn’t cheap.

120 mile commute 5 days a week and you are balking at buying AP for $5K?

I can't understand some people.

This is like the airlines saying you can get business class tickets for coach price for all your futures flights for one time cost of $5K, and you, the person travelling every week across Atlantic to Europe, are not sure if it is worth it.

 

[TI_LEG]

They are probably charging for the R&D costs, not the software itself. The programming is already in the car, it's just a very expensive way to change a 0 to a 1 in the computer to enable it.

They are charging for a software license.

 

[Vines]

Hi, my name is Vines and I am an Autopilot Addict.

The main reason I bought a Tesla was AP. Without it, I'd still be driving my Honda Insight. Its the first new car I've ever bought, and I only did because the financials made sense to me.

What would you pay for an extra hour per day NOT DRIVING due to the efficiencies of the carpool lane? My daily commute takes me right into the heart of the beast, next to Google in Mountain View. Other end is about 40 miles away, and I generally spent about 70-90 minutes each way, each day. Granted any carpool lane able vehicle would have given me this, not only the Tesla. Now I spend 45-60 minutes per day each way, and generally make it home in an hour shorter commute. I "Bought" a free hour per day for $40, If I only assume the 72 month term of my loan, and the full purchase price.

During those 90-120 minutes per day I'm insulated from the craziness of the world slightly. Silicon valley freeways can get pretty tense lol. I'm not getting bullied around, the car is lol. Even though my hand is right there, there's something to be said for this. Plus with my challenging job, my mind is sometimes just done. Its great to let the car worry mostly, and just supervise. I even let it drive me home over 17 when I'm in the mood to drive 50-55.

All the people in my life recognize the change in my mood, they can see how much less stressed, less drained. I no longer need alone time when I get home as I feel pretty rested. We took a long trip up north over xmas and AP drove 98-99% of the time while I supervised. Supervising a 16 y/o driver is much less fatiguing than actually driving yourself for 12 hours in 2-3 hour blocks. AP might not be perfect, but its rarely ever worse than it presents.

 

[Tim Alguire]

For those that complain about Autopilot nag... what is your problem! Just rest your hand with gentle pressure- doesn’t take much.. I drove down the west coast a not single issue with nag... more of an issue of some people “nagging” and not the car!
I think they got it right. It is NOT a self Driving car yet folks so stop expecting beyond the limitations