The Real Use for Auto-Pilot

[69bluesman]

AP is not for your everyday city street driving affair. Stop-and-go traffic....YES, anywhere, anytime.

What AP does for me on the freeway (whether it's across town, or across the state) is it takes a layer of stress or shall I say...responsibility, off my mind when using it. I'm still very much paying attention to the road, but it makes long drives just that much more enjoyable.

 

[dmurphy]

AP is not for your everyday city street driving affair. Stop-and-go traffic....YES, anywhere, anytime.

What AP does for me on the freeway (whether it's across town, or across the state) is it takes a layer of stress or shall I say...responsibility, off my mind when using it. I'm still very much paying attention to the road, but it makes long drives just that much more enjoyable.

I feel very much the same way - AP is very useful for me, in my usage pattern.

What I'm learning (quickly) is that if there's 1,000 of us here - there's got to be at least 3,000 different driving situations/styles.

Some of us have long highway commutes
Some of us have local road commutes
Some of us don't commute at all
Some of us live in congested areas
Some of us live in rural open areas
Some of us need Superchargers daily
Some of us never need a Supercharger
So on and so forth ...

And so that said, the whole "I can't find a use for AP" vs. "AP is the best thing ever" argument isn't, really. It's just a reflection of one's use case.

How well it works - tracking cars, braking, lane changing, etc - well that's the kind of thing we can debate endlessly.

 

[Kevin-rf]

I bought the car for the Price, Battery Range, and Super Charger network... How much EAP has changed my daily commute was a complete shock. If asked today, EAP is more valuable to me than the car..

 

[imnotdavez]

I absolutely love autopilot and also love "driving" the car. The way I see it, my commute isn't what would constitute what anyone would consider fun driving. I cross highway 37 in Northern California daily and it has a stretch where it's just a single lane, so there's always a lot of slowdown on it (because all it takes is one slow car or one car that needs to constantly slow down to 25 MPH below the speed limit for every slight curve or hill to make it hell for the thousands of cars behind it).

Throw in the bottlenecks where it goes from 2 lanes down to 1 and I have to face bumper-to-bumper stop-n-go traffic every single day I commute to work -- approximately 300 days per year. EAP and NoA just does all the crappy parts for me. I pay attention at all times -- but more to be ready to take over in case I anticipate someone trying to hit me, as even though driving in a single lane should be safe because your only job is to not hit the person in front of you, there are rear end collisions on the road practically every single day due to bad drivers who are constantly on their cell phones or just not paying attention. I want to be ready to pull off onto the side of the road to keep someone from rear ending me while they're not paying attention.

It's not perfect. I get warnings all the time even though my hands will be on the wheel because I'll forget to put rotational force on it. The map and voice will show and say the correct exit towards my office, but then if I don't take over at that point it'll take the exit before it (it's an exit A and B right next to each other and the directions will be for the 2nd one but the car will just jerk towards and take the first one at the last second). There's a spot where it opens up after the single lane traffic where the speed limit is 65, but the car thinks it's 50 and the drivers think it's 100 because everyone's ready to speed after being stuck in the single lane behind a slow driver, which makes me the a-hole if I don't take over at this time. Nevertheless, it's reduced my daily stress from commuting by at least 90%.

 

[JVI100D]

I love driving and I love road trips. I currently have six cars and bought my S100D AP as the commuter, adding the AP just because I was curious thinking "when would ever I use it?". I realize Tesla's are not mainly designed for long road trips but surprisingly to me, my S is by far the best road trip car I have ever owned. Quiet, smooth yet handles great, comfortable, great audio, great visibility, and AP reduces the need for concentrating 100% of the time while still paying attention. It's especially great during long drives with a cross wind. I've driven from Chicago to DC and to NY and to Boston (separate trips) and can drive straight through and not arrive exhausted. Stopping for charging certainly helps refresh but the lack of noise and the tech makes road trips a breeze for me.

 

[rich0]

100% this. Did a cross-country road trip with an AP1 Model S and it was incredible how much less draining it was.

Couldn't agree more. You still have to pay attention but the WAY you pay attention is very different. I find myself looking up and out and around more. I can glance at the scenery a bit too, but I'm just more aware of what is going on. I'm not having to constantly stare at two lines to ensure I'm exactly in-between them lest I bump into another car.

I feel like I get way less fatigued driving and if something did go wrong I'd actually be more alert. I don't feel like I get into a trance like I often used to driving long distance manually. I actually look forward to driving now - before it was something I really tried to avoid.

 

[shellderp]

my S is by far the best road trip car I have ever owned.

it's an amazing road trip car. Since getting our S we arrive at our destination thinking "wow we're already here?" and usually want to keep driving

 

[Kelela]

I just drove home to Santa Barbara last night after a meeting in Orange County that ended at 4. In olden days I would have gone to dinner first to "wait out" the traffic (as if that were actually possible going thru LA). But with AP I knew I could just let my car [practically] chauffeur me home, so I hopped on the freeway and relished listening to my audiobook all the way—mindfully but not wearily monitoring my surroundings.
(I did experience one momentary phantom braking episode as my car went into the shadow of an overpass, solved by quickly tapping the accelerator.)

 

[spkane]

AP is definitely incredible in stop and go traffic. I don't use it regularly outside that except on long trips, as it does make the driving less exhausting Ina long haul (and honestly needing to stop and recharge the car, is a good forcing function to recharge the driver as well).
The one thing I have found is that the way I need to pay attention when driving a Tesla changes a lot between the different models and ICE vehicles.

You still have to pay attention but the WAY you pay attention is very different.

I normally, drive as usually. With cruise control on, one has to steer but only really brake at stop signs, lights, tight turns, and in emergencies.

With autosteer on, on has to still monitor the braking exceptions, but you no longer actively steer, you just need to be ready to assume full control at any moment.

When I've had to go back to an ICE vehicle the biggest thing I keep having to remember is that I always need to use the brake to slow down. I am actually surprised at how quickly I adjusted to one pedal driving with the regenerative braking. That may be the thing I live the most about these cars.

 

[Apoztel]

So you don't live in LA....

Or the DC area.

 

[Paul Wolff]

I've never really understood the love for auto-pilot...this is a car I love to drive, why would I want to take that away?
I've tried it on the highways, and enjoyed the novelty for a few seconds, and then turned it back off. To be fair, I never really used cruise control on any cars I've had.

But this morning, for the first time, I loved AP.

I was stuck in bumper to bumper traffic, which is always miserable. Turned on AP, and let the car take over.
This is what AP is for. Being able to sit back and relax in heavy traffic.

Love it.

As a former Porsche owner, (3-914, 1-914-6, 2-912, 4-911 and 2 Cayman S) when I got the Model 3, the acceleration sold it... faster that all the above, handled really well, but on long drives to LA, AutoPilot saves my sanity. Being able to be more observant of the surroundings, including the cars on my sides and rear has made my experience safer, and relaxing. The funny part is that I am less drowsy, most likely because I am not hyper focussed on the steering wheel and the one car in front of me... When I get to my office in LA (2.5 hours away), I feel just like I felt when I got into it.

Sadly, the Cayman S is for sale. I will be buying a 911 with a blown motor someday and having my friends at Telefunken Motorsports electrify it with a Tesla motor...

 

[Spudford]

My daughter had the best expression for how AP makes driving easier: she asked, "So what do you do with the extra bandwidth you're not using to drive?"

 

[Deslah]

Just watch out for sudden braking sometimes. Sometimes it starts tracking vehicles in adjacent lanes and TACC triggers on them as if they are about to cut in front of you.

And, for me its because they've indeed jerked the wheel with an intent to cut in front of me.

 

[turnem]

I personally use AP every day on my daily commute and it's only 9 miles on city roads. I have to engage probably less than 10% of my commute. When I first got the car I was frustrated because it didn't drive how I would drive. I've learned to let go of that and it's been awesome. Sure - there are spots on my commute that I know it's not going to handle properly (mostly intersections where it misreads the lanes) so I take over but all in all... my commute is an awesome experience because of auto pilot.

But the other use case scenario for me surprised me a bit. My wife was in a terrible accident 2 years ago where someone T-boned her and flipped out Audi Q7 with her and our 3 young children in the car. Everyone was OK. My middle child broke both bones in her left arm but that was the worst of the physical damage. However, the mental toll on my wife has been rough. She's still skittish in any car.

She LOVES when we take the M3 places these days because she loves the redundancy of me + AP. And she loves the fact that AP typically drives more conservatively than I would. Yes, when AP wigs out and starts breaking and/or beeping that freaks her out a little but she's starting to get used to it. I typically only use AP in conservative situations (not on surface streets - mainly on highways and interstates as intended) so as not to alarm her.

Anyway - just my $0.02 on my personal use cases for AP.

 

[jyalpert]

And so that said, the whole "I can't find a use for AP" vs. "AP is the best thing ever" argument isn't, really. It's just a reflection of one's use case.

Yeah, totally agree. Depends on your individual needs and circumstances.

 

[chr2]

Love AP and FSD, even in this embryonic state. Definitely one reason I bought my M3 and am all in on its development. Just wish there was a way to tighten up the distance behind other vehicles in heavy traffic - even at supposedly 1 car length, the gap is a like an open invite for other cars to cut in, at least in metro NY area. Drivers here are not bashful or particularly gentile.

 

[lauriepaddles]

I've never really understood the love for auto-pilot...this is a car I love to drive, why would I want to take that away?
I've tried it on the highways, and enjoyed the novelty for a few seconds, and then turned it back off. To be fair, I never really used cruise control on any cars I've had.

But this morning, for the first time, I loved AP.

I was stuck in bumper to bumper traffic, which is always miserable. Turned on AP, and let the car take over.
This is what AP is for. Being able to sit back and relax in heavy traffic.

Love it.

Absolutely agree! I commute through the Toronto area once weekly. It is a gift to have the ability relax and have more safety in heavy traffic, or even in slowed driving conditions—. Enjoy the tunes or something else positive.

 

[OBX John]

It's like going from labor to management. You still have to pay attention, but it's so much less tiring and boring.

I keep it on most of the time I'm driving, unless I want complete control - I find it's like a second set of eyes, ready for the person in front of me to randomly slam on their brakes while I'm checking my blind spot.

It truly shines in stop and go traffic - I used to dread any trip where I might hit a backup; now it's almost like taking a break from the drive while AP does all the work. Until the stop and go gets above 5mph, I feel fine reading a book while it drives so long as there are good line markings.

 

[icpps]

One thing I really dislike about AP, is that it takes my M3 too close to center line of the road. Much closer to center line than lateral, which is is almost scary in heavy traffic. Does anyone else have the same feeling?

 

[RaeW]

Here's how AP can save your bacon: I was driving in the early morning (dark) under an overpass when a deluge of water was dumped from above (construction going on). I was completely blinded until the auto wipers kicked in. Immediately before me was a lane squeeze with Jersey barriers. AP worked perfectly. Had I not had it engaged there is a good chance I would have sideswiped the barriers.