New Criterion for AP/FSD - the Spousal test

[Foxtrotter]

In an attempt at a little humor and to make a serious point in the midst of a forum racked by debates about the safety of EAP/AP/FSD as well as the ultimate level achievable by current Tesla hardware with HW3, I offer a new criterion for the safety of these functions. The well-known "Spouse Test".

Does your spouse prefer to have you driving unassisted or using EAP/FSD?
Does your spouse ask you to turn it on at times.

One of the very many reasons I wanted EAP/FSD was because of how scared I was sometimes with my spouse's driving even though she has never had a serious accident. And I find that I feel much safer now as the lane-keeping is much improved over her driving and the following of other cars is much more consistent. And she agrees that the car drives better than her in most situations and uses it as much as she can.

On the other side, she is much happier when I put the car in EAP, because then it doesn't tend to accelerate as fast as possible or go around corners fast so she feels much safer.

Now this is only one criterion and it applies much more to the current iterations than when we got our first 3 a year ago, but I offer it as an alternative subjective criterion that may or may not comport with "objective" criteria but certainly makes for a more relaxed spouse when driving together.

And we are waiting eagerly for HW3 in the hopes it will make things even better.

 

[Tam]

...well-known "Spouse Test"...

In the old days when I had passengers in my Prius, they kept alarming me that my car just died again (expected frequent shutoffs of a gasoline engine in a hybrid system).

I love Autopilot but my passengers were shocked each time I corrected the automation. They just can't believe that I am using a beta system and they would prefer me to shut the Autopilot off.

 

[run-the-joules]

I love Autopilot but my passengers were shocked each time I corrected the automation. They just can't believe that I am using a beta system and they would prefer me to shut the Autopilot off.

You’re a better person than me. I’d pull over and tell them to use their preferred ride share, taxi, or public transit option from that point. Or they can hush and we can get back on the road.

 

[S4WRXTTCS]

It's an interesting poll because I've heard from a few different people that they prefer their spouse not to use AP because the false braking freaks them out.

One guy even said he won't use it with his wife in the car because of false braking. Where if she isn't in the car he has no issues with AP because he can feel the false braking happen, and quickly fix it.

I don't have a spouse so I use NoA to have someone to bicker with.

 

[electronblue]

@Foxtrotter is the first time I hear of the Autopilot Spose Test go this way. Usually it is quite the opposite...

 

[boonedocks]

Since my S is the beater car LOL we use it on weekends and weeknight for errands and such. My HW2.0 is so bad a stop & go traffic that I won't / banned by wife can't use it with her or the family in the car. TACC is fine...EAP nope not gonna happen. Too many sudden stops and brake pedal flops and snaps. Our model X HW2.5...flawless but that's her car and she hates to put miles on it since it's a holder for her until the roadster comes out.

 

[Foxtrotter]

@Foxtrotter is the first time I hear of the Autopilot Spose Test go this way. Usually it is quite the opposite...

Actually, I'm quite amazed at the negative responses so far. We have put 12,000 miles in a year on one of our model 3's and 8000 in 8 months on the other. This has included something like 40 ~200 mile commutes from Santa Barbara to UCLA in often heavy traffic and two long road trips as well as daily usage. Both of us have been in the car being driven at least 70% of the time so we have a lot of time together in the cars. When we got the first one last April, EAP was not confidence inspiring but by late June it was working much better and it has continued to get better. It is incredibly good in stop and go freeway traffic and a real joy on rural freeways. The amount that one has to watch for issues has declined a lot over the months. 19.9.5 which we have now has great ability to deal with merging cars in freeway traffic. That was always a weak point in the past but now its great. At the same time the lane-keeping has gotten a little less smooth but I expect that will get sorted out. Phantom braking is rare on our drives.

It seems that some of you folks who are especially negative are running older model S's with HW1 or 2. That may be part of the issue. Our experience is only with the model 3.
Also, my spouse is very techy so she is inclined to like new stuff like this.

 

[Foxtrotter]

19.5.15 actually

 

[Cheburashka]

Since my S is the beater car LOL we use it on weekends and weeknight for errands and such. My HW2.0 is so bad a stop & go traffic that I won't / banned by wife can't use it with her or the family in the car. TACC is fine...EAP nope not gonna happen. Too many sudden stops and brake pedal flops and snaps. Our model X HW2.5...flawless but that's her car and she hates to put miles on it since it's a holder for her until the roadster comes out.

Interesting.. are the X and S on the same fw?

The EAP performance should be pretty similar at this point.

 

[CaliMS]

My wife is a non-techie. All new tech coming into the house is rated for WAF (Wife Acceptance Factor) before hand. She does not let her car (non-Tesla) even manage the temperature, insisting on doing it herself.

So for AP - I don't bring it up, i just let it run. Her verbal WAF is low on autopilot. Reality is no issue.

 

[boonedocks]

Interesting.. are the X and S on the same fw?

The EAP performance should be pretty similar at this point.

Yes both on 2018.50.6.

The problem is with the S on HW2.0. The TACC & EAP handle braking in stop and go traffic completely different. The X HW2.5 handles stop & go traffic equally well using TACC or EAP.