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Tried a FSD subscription. It's not worth it...

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I bit the bullet and tried the FSD one-month subscription option for a 1700 mile road trip this past weekend in my 2020 Model 3 Standard Plus. My opinion: not worth it.

Full Self Driving is just a terrible name for what is essentially Autopilot+. I'd imagine your commute would need to involve nothing but freeway driving to get much benefit from a $200 a month subscription, and definitely not $12000.

Summon is one of those features that's neat to play with, and might come in handy once in a blue moon. I'd pay $5 to sneak the car out of a tight spot once in a while, but not a recurring subscription.

Navigate on autopilot did relieve the necessity to keep turning autopilot off and back on every time I wanted to change lanes, which begs the question of why Tesla requires you to turn the autopilot off and back on just to change lanes. The cruise control worked the same as before, and honestly, I can handle lane changes on my own.

Stoplight and stop sign handling was terrible. It ID'd stop signs that weren't there, stopped the car in the middle of a highway, and tries to stop for most green lights unless you remember to tell it not to. It stopped for no reason multiple times during the trip. This in turn caused more safety hazards than if I just disabled it to begin with.

Autopilot is generally a great tool. You can turn it on, pay attention, and not really worry too much about your car doing things you'd rather it not do. FSD adds a whole new level of anxiety and complexity that is in no way a finished product. I can't imagine the FSD Beta being any better. I could understand it if it weren't so expensive, but at $12000/$200 per month, it is wildly overpriced. I've already canceled the subscription, and I doubt I'll be missing anything when it ends except the ability to impress friends by letting the car mope around a parking lot by itself.
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("Tesla Autopilot Engaged in Model X.jpg" by Ian Maddox is licensed under CC BY 4.0.)
 
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Totally off topic, and not picking on you as it is just a regional thing that I find interesting, but "The 5" always sounds funny to the folks raised up in and around Seattle/Tacoma etc. There, it is I-5, and people look at you funny if you say The 5. The Seattle Times has recently pointed it out in articles they have going on who is local PNW and who is not. As if that even matters or is a thing.

I have never really heard people call it "the 5" before, but see it all the time on this forum. And, well, in California, I guess it is The 5, and who are the Seattle people to say that is wrong. So again, just struck me funny once more and felt compelled to comment.

Carry on!

I guess some folks in Bay Area or LA call it ‘The Five’ because we love driving on it so much. 😝

Its one of the most boring drives, actually. Boredom is only broken occasionally by semis stressing you by driving side by side for 5-10 minutes like they own the road. 😌
 
I guess some folks in Bay Area or LA call it ‘The Five’ because we love driving on it so much. 😝

Its one of the most boring drives, actually. Boredom is only broken occasionally by semis stressing you by driving side by side for 5-10 minutes like they own the road. 😌
THE 5 is soooooo boring. Just miles and miles of straight nothingness. Except oil pumps or whatever those things are.
 
How about the word "autopilot" has changed it definition over time to include other things? 100+ years ago, it had a specific definition, but as technology changed, the word has new meaning and now encompasses other features, such as landing the plane. Also, words in the English language can change their meaning depending on context. So autopilot has a meaning in the context of aviation, but might have a different meaning in the context of automotive. Happens all the time with English. Heck, dictionaries have modified the definition of literally to include figuratively because society has modified their use of the word. And for one of the most famous changes of a definition of a word over time, I hope that you are all feeling very gay today, in a very 1912 kinda way. :)
 
How about the word "autopilot" has changed it definition over time to include other things? 100+ years ago, it had a specific definition, but as technology changed, the word has new meaning and now encompasses other features, such as landing the plane.

Except, that's factually not true.

Again, the FAA is the regulatory authority on this.

Autopilot has a specific defintion and meaning.

it does not land the plane

There's a different system that does that called autoland

Autopilot also doesn't control the speed of the aircraft, there's yet another system called autothrottle that does that.

These remain different things, each of which has different rules and regulations that apply to them.


This remains true even if some USA Today reporter didn't bother to make the distinction.
 
Except, that's factually not true.

Again, the FAA is the regulatory authority on this.

Autopilot has a specific defintion and meaning.

it does not land the plane

There's a different system that does that called autoland

Autopilot also doesn't control the speed of the aircraft, there's yet another system called autothrottle that does that.

These remain different things, each of which has different rules and regulations that apply to them.


This remains true even if some USA Today reporter didn't bother to make the distinction.
And Kleenex really wishes people didn't use their name to encompass all facial tissues, but we do it anyway to the point where Kleenex is now a generic term for facial tissue.

So technically yes, Knight is correct that the FAA defines autopilot as a specific function in the context of aviation, but that doesn't mean the word hasn't evolved over time in the vernacular.
 
And Kleenex really wishes people didn't use their name to encompass all facial tissues, but we do it anyway to the point where Kleenex is now a generic term for facial tissue.

So technically yes, Knight is correct that the FAA defines autopilot as a specific function in the context of aviation, but that doesn't mean the word hasn't evolved over time in the vernacular.
I think it matters when talking about technical features of this car, and what software and tech does what thing. To make sure we are talking about apples to apples. I think it is too easy to get confused relying only on whatever the general slang/vernacular is.
 
I think it matters when talking about technical features of this car, and what software and tech does what thing. To make sure we are talking about apples to apples. I think it is too easy to get confused relying only on whatever the general slang/vernacular is.
I won't argue that Tesla chose poorly when naming its technology.

I think autopilot is a good description for the basic features, adaptive cruise control, lane assist, and lane change. FSD on the other hand...
 
Wait, I have EAP and it changes lanes when I press the turn stalk.
I think EAP has that feature from FSD, but basic Autopilot does not.

I also forgot about one of the features of Smart Summon - that it will open the garage door, back out of the garage and then close the door if you have the Homelink hardware installed. Kinda wish I had Homelink, cuz I use summon all the time for my garage. :)
 
I’ve spent hundreds of miles per day with FSD in LA and Bay Area. The only place it’s very useful is driving back and forth between the two cities. Sure, it pisses off every other driver on the 5 because it behaves indecisively, but to say it can do over 95% of my driving for me is… (…is inaccurate (moderator edit))
seriously... I use it on at least 90%. Sorry it doesn’t work as well for you. (moderator edit)

This is the area and roads it drives me on 6 days a week.
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I know this was discussed early in this post, but regarding FSD and stoplights. Sometimes on FSD my car goes through the green lights just fine, sometimes it asks for verification and starts to slow down. I haven't figured out the pattern yet.

It always stops at red lights.

I am in Missouri.
 
I know this was discussed early in this post, but regarding FSD and stoplights. Sometimes on FSD my car goes through the green lights just fine, sometimes it asks for verification and starts to slow down. I haven't figured out the pattern yet.

It always stops at red lights.

I am in Missouri.
Per the software notes, FSD will progress through a green light without confirmation If there is a lead car within range to confirm. If not then you need to confirm the action to progress or it will slow down. FSD Beta does this automatically and I have never had an issue with it.