AP is the main feature I'm looking for with Model S or X, planned as a long distance car. But I'm still waiting for better 360 degree coverage.
We have a Model 3 reserved, but might not get AP on that one since it is likely our city driving car.
I answered the poll as a non-owner/reservation holder since I have only driven with AP on a short demo drive.
One accident does not make AP unsafe, we need better stats for that. But it may point out improvements that could be made.
You should get autopilot if there is any chance that you might resell it one day. There is no way I would even consider buying a car without it.
I doubt there are many who have more autopilot miles behind them than I do....almost 40k miles in the past year and most with autopilot on (either cruise, lane keeping or both on). Its become like a seat belt in that I do not feel safety is optimized unless it is on. I drive in the middle of my lane, horrified at all the cars I see swerving in and out of the bike lane or all the way off the road in a few cases. On single lane roads, the capability to read speed limit signs and automatically change speeds accordingly has helped me to avoid tickets. On more than one occasion, the shrill warning that I am approaching a car too fast has allowed me to brake way before I otherwise would have. As a convenience on long road trips it is markedly better than the system on my wife's MDX or my daughter's Acura which seem to cause the car to bounce from one side of the lane to the other. If God forbid, I were to dose off while driving, my car would likely eventually come to a stop while theirs would just turn off their autopilot and allow them to careen off the road or into a pedestrian or another car.
It works so well, that I can see how it can lure one into complacency. I think the fatal accident is a wake up call to always be alert since the "perfect storm" of variables coming together requiring immediate human intervention will eventually occur.
I live near Williston FL where the fatal accident occurred, have studied the accident site and just happened to have had an opportunity to talk to a person who was called to the scene who knew I had a Tesla and brought it up. It was a horrific accident that involved the perfect storm of variables coming together.
There has already been another fatal accident at this exact fairly remote intersection. After reviewing the details of the more recent accident, I believe if both drivers had been in vehicles with autopilot technology the accident would probably have been avoided or injuries dramatically mitigated since all of the "perfect storm" variables were not present, especially the elevated trailer with clear space underneath. It seems like every week, there is another accident on the nearby interstate I- 75, many fatal. In almost every situation that I have witnessed, Autopilot tech would have prevented it...cars or trucks running into the back of others, running off the road or drifting outside their lane, hitting an adjacent car and losing control.
