New Model 3 Owner. FSD worth it or not?

[camalaio]

Just curious, how and where exactly is NOA crippled on Canadian highways?

I was thinking of taking another trip up that way, Vancouver and probably up to Banff. Not too enthused if I have to do all the driving with no NOA or assisted lane change.

It's crippled by not being available, or at least I assume that's what they were referring to.

It's possible the Trans Canada and the 5 (Coquihalla) have NoA available in some spots, but in my experience they didn't. You also don't really benefit from it for the total of maybe 3 exits over 900 km between those two cities. Some of it is turns at intersections, so you need to take over anyways.

Everyone keeps saying FSD helps so much on highways but I still haven't heard what the game-changer $9200 feature is that FSD offers. Basic AP will bring you over 95% of that journey. Much of it is single file roads as well as you get further away from Vancouver, you won't be enthused anyways if you get stuck behind a truck

Besides all that, for conditions on mountain highways in BC/AB, depending on the time of year (right now for example), it's not even recommended to use basic cruise control let alone NoA.

 

[Jffurlan]

Besides all that, for conditions on mountain highways in BC/AB, depending on the time of year (right now for example), it's not even recommended to use basic cruise control let alone NoA.

And as I’ve recently learned (but am not surprised by), as soon as there is even the lightest dusting of snow AP is no longer available as it can’t see the lines. So paying $9,200 for a feature that works only 6 months of the year? And only on certain roads? Tough sell.

I’ll say it again: I really wish they would sell FSD features individually.

 

[Fernand]

I had an interesting drive today, freeway/NOA one way with version 2019.36.2.1 - continuing to impress with ever more human lane changes. And lane changes are a big deal. AP/AS/TACC are fine, but it's lane changes that really automate driving. In Vancouver I can't imagine NOA not being available in traffic on the freeways.

Anyway, on the way back I said "navigate home" and to my surprise the nav took me onto a back road varying between 2-4 lanes and no NOA. So I was thinking of our discussion here, what would it be like not to have NOA, just basic AP. I don't know if voice command works in basic AP. As it turned out, the nav knew what it was doing, it took me around an apocalyptic traffic jam on the freeway, saved me almost an hour. Then on the multi-lane sections I had blinker-initiated lane changes, which came in handy in several sections as I'm always nervous about blind spots. This back road took me ~ 20 miles, winding through hill and dale with AP steering very well, then to another freeway, where NOA kicked back in all the way to my home exit.

I can't say what works and doesn't in Canada right now, but it will keep changing as ALL cars get smarter. Unless you're a die-hard Musk hater, you know Tesla will deliver ever more capable automation, so buying in now isn't much of a gamble. It's not that I have money to burn, but my son was right - and he sells ICE cars - he said "if you're getting a Tesla, get the whole thing". I got EAP for $5k and regret not financing the FSD add-on at the outset, because I had to come up with the cash later, and I missed the $2k EAP -> FSD upgrade, which made my whole AP $8k instead of $7k (US).

Why am I bothering telling you this? Because my son was right, and I was a dummy. If you're buying a Tesla, not leasing, and you're planning to keep it more than a couple of years, get and finance the complete car, and enjoy the most amazing vehicle as it develops.
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[Tn23]

Thanks for EVERYONES comments, advise and different takes on FSD. Especially for the ones in BC, that feedback really helps as I will mostly be in the GRVD area and this puts lots of things into perspective for me. I have the FSD held at $7800 price right now, however I have the option to cancel, while the price has gone up to $9200. Apparently in Jan, they will raise it another time so it'll be over $10,000.

Decisions decisions a few more days to decide. Thank you everyone!

 

[Jffurlan]

Apparently in Jan, they will raise it another time so it'll be over $10,000.

Sigh, while this wouldn’t surprise me I just can’t see the justification. This would also mean that in the span of a year it increased in price by 250% (from discounted Feb 2019 price). Has the feature set really improved that much?

 

[Kiwiadventure]

You could have purchase a cheaper EV and was your Tesla purchase worth it.
To me FSD is fun and when have we really had some fun with our vehicles since buying our first vehicle.
You can never justify many of our purchases.

 

[Fernand]

There's a great new interview with Elon Musk here

a follow up to this one, if you haven't seen it.

He says that self-driving on highways is effectively complete, and I agree, and he mentions the changing personality of the autopilot, which is obvious to those of us who use it much, on recent updates. For instance, my car has only recently learned to muscle-in in order to cross lanes the way a human does, projecting confidence and bravado, effectively saying "make a little room or we'll both die".

The Advanced Summon is being used to develop at low speed the handling of street level (what could be more chaotic than a parking lot, with cars moving unpredictably, little old ladies with walkers and children running?) Maybe surprisingly we haven't heard of baby carriages being crushed, or major accidents. What remains is releasing versions with handling of street signs/lights and complex intersections. He implies first half 2020. I think they're pretty much on track, plus minus a few months.

After watching that interview and a couple more, I decided to try something different, namely to take a completely "hands off" drive in NOA over 3 freeways. I always keep my right hand just so on the wheel, but I'm also normally hyper-vigilant and will switch briefly to manual at any ambiguity, then back to auto. This time I decided to just let it do whatever it wanted unless collision was imminent. It changes the experience in a very real way. Of course the car managed just fine, through dozens of lane changes, as it has always done of late (version 2019.36.12.1 Mad Max mode), but it also worked out ambiguities without my (unnecessary) interventions. My respect for the Tesla team went up another notch. I think it's a mistake to see the automation as a "feature" or "option". It's the real core of the design.

I believe the price must go up for these cars to be profitable with the development of the automation. Musk delivered a base EV at $35k, as promised, but the battery and motor cost them almost that much. Relative to what the automation was capable of in December 2018, when it cost $8000 US total ($5k base AP + $3k FSD), yes it's been improved in huge ways. @Jffurlan no, it hasn't gone up 250%. The AP portion is now "free", included in the SR+ price, and the FSD portion is $7k US. It makes sense that it will go up, as the complete price has gone down - I paid way more than the current $46.5k for SR+ w/ FSD.
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[muleferg]

Why not get both? LR/FSD

 

[Fernand]

@Kiwiadventure so true! We just got an electric train for the grandson, and I was noticing how our train toys get a little bigger every year ... and then we get a Tesla
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