Unveiling on Oct 17th

[bigmaple1]

Yes, you are missing the fact that this is not just some fly-by-night upgrade. This is the autopilot suite that will go in the Model 3, so it's here to stay for 2+ years at the very least. Getting it now you are essentially opting-in to be a beta tester, just like AP 1.0 and any other break-through thing Tesla has done. I am taking delivery end of November and can live without those features for a few months. It's really not a big deal. Going so far as to say that someone would buy another car based on that is ludicrous.

What you might consider, is that the new hardware is included for free, since you already spec'd out your car. You also (hopefully), configured autopilot. In that case, I suspect they would give you 'Enhanced Autopilot' for no additional cost beyond your spec. That would be a sweet deal if it works out -- you just saved $2000 on the new hardware enabled.

 

[MorrisonHiker]

Mine is a 162 vin. Where do you find that info?

If you view the source on the design spec on your MyTesla page, you should be able to see your option codes. If you have DA02, you don't have the new hardware. If you have APE1, APF1, then you do. Contact @DÆrik here or check out TeslaInventory.com . That's where I saw 19 or so cars which already have new hardware.

 

[mhan00]

Amazing. I was waaaaaay off with all my predictions. I thought level 5 autonomy would be an option only for the second generation of the 3, and that's clearly not the case.

I am in awe, and yet also extremely apprehensive that Musk is pushing too fast. If Tesla succeeds, then they really have a shot at completely up heaving the entire auto industry and even Nokia some of the entrenched major manufacturers. If they push too quickly, they could absolutely destroy their brand and sink the company. It's going to be an incredibly exciting and nerve racking couple of years.

 

[Colby Boles]

Who the hell knows. I know for sure if it were me, I'd be calling your reps up tomorrow to find out. It's a pretty massive swing in re-sale value.

Tell me about it. When I decided to not opt for the lease w/buyaback option I knew my resale value would be down due to incremental improvements over the years, but I didn't expect to see the 100D and AP2 come only a few months after taking delivery.

 

[Ulmo]

I suspect that the automatic charging is for the car to charge itself, perhaps with NO ONE IN THE CAR. Maybe you get out at your favorite restaurant, the car Valets itself to the supercharger while you dine, then parks happily until you are ready for it to pick you up.

Precisely. This will allow you to go where ever you want during long trips, and not have to worry about charging.

 

[Canuck]

Am I missing something here or is this like buying an HDTV early on but not having any programming that can take advantage of the hardware? And by the time programming became available, you're already on to a new TV set?

Yes, you're missing something. There's no comparison. Sure, people waited for AP to be activated the first time around but when it was activated it wasn't like buying a new TV. It drew a huge line between AP and non-AP cars. I know from personal experience.

Today, a new line has just been drawn between AP1.0 and AP2.0. I only had an AP loaner for a week and going to and from my cabin on the highway it rushed into corners, and then braked hard. We are told this new AP2.0 sees twice as far:

Twelve updated ultrasonic sensors complement this vision, allowing for detection of both hard and soft objects at nearly twice the distance of the prior system. A forward-facing radar with enhanced processing provides additional data about the world on a redundant wavelength, capable of seeing through heavy rain, fog, dust and even the car ahead

There won't be waiting to use things like this -- this will be used right away. Improving the blind spot detection (which is pitiful) will be used right away. Most importantly, for people like me, being able to relax while using AP is crucial.

The wait is for regulatory approval for autonomous driving, which really only means you can do other things than pay attention to driving. It doesn't necessarily mean they hold back the features that make it autonomous. That makes no sense. The new camera/sensors/faster processing will be used from day 1. How can they not be? As time progresses, stop signs and lights will be read, it will start to turn corners, etc. Those updates will be for AP2.0 only. But from day 1 it will be significantly better.

Don't underestimate how significant this announcement is. Comparing it to early HDTV's is ludicrous.

Sorry folks who have AP1.0 but you're vehicles are now obsolete. While "obsolete" sounds like a harsh word, it simply means "no longer produced or used; out of date." That's AP 1.0 as of today. But you still have really great vehicles.

 

[BluestarE3]

Yes, you are missing the fact that this is not just some fly-by-night upgrade. This is the autopilot suite that will go in the Model 3, so it's here to stay for 2+ years at the very least. Getting it now you are essentially opting-in to be a beta tester, just like AP 1.0 and any other break-through thing Tesla has done. I am taking delivery end of November and can live without those features for a few months. It's really not a big deal. Going so far as to say that someone would buy another car based on that is ludicrous.

For Model 3, that's not a big an issue because by the time you get it, Tesla and the regulators would be further along and the wait for full functionality would be less. However, for those who are contemplating canceling their Model S orders today and reordering to get the opportunity to pay for the enhanced hardware, the wait for full functionality would be that much longer. So, let's say it's 3, 4 or 5 years from now... would you still have the same Model S by then or would you be looking at a replacement which could conceivably have even newer hardware and full software functionality?

 

[Gig103]

What I wonder is what this means for all the AP1 cars - probably that 8.0 is the end of the line for its development.

 

[Tam]

The wording on that self-charging is kind of vague. Could mean its wireless ("not even need to plug in your vehicle") or that YOU don't have to put the plug in. I'm guessing they mean the later.

The order page wording is clear:

"For Superchargers that have automatic charge connection enabled,..."

This cannot mean wireless. Supercharger will get faster with cooling liquid cables as well, not wireless.

The automatic part is the "connection," not automatic wireless.

 

[mhan00]

Tesla better deploy an extra dozen people to refining their navigation software immediately. Otherwise I have visions of cars driving around in circles to the same superchargers over and over again as the Nav occasionally directs cars today. Or maybe Musk leverages his relationship with Google to use Google Maps as the default Nav system?

 

[outie]

What I wonder is what this means for all the AP1 cars - probably that 8.0 is the end of the line for its development.

This is the last line of the press release:

As always, our over-the-air software updates will keep customers at the forefront of technology and continue to make every Tesla, including those equipped with first-generation Autopilot and earlier cars, more capable over time.

who knows what they can do

 

[Gig103]

The order page wording is clear:

"For Superchargers that have automatic charge connection enabled,..."

This cannot mean wireless. Supercharger will get faster with cooling liquid cables as well, not wireless.

The automatic part is the "connection," not automatic wireless.

What is automatic charge connection and how do you know if your car has it?

 

[Pdub2015]

Found in updated Order Page:

Enhanced Autopilot $5000 ($6000 upgrade after delivery)
Full Self Driving Capability $3000 ($4000 upgrade after delivery)


So the affordable $35,000 Model 3 is now potentially $43,000 before adding any additional features. I wonder what percentage of Model 3 buyers will opt out of this extra $8,000 when configure their vehicles.

I seem to remember many wondering (and probably wishing) if AP would be included or available on the M3s. I also seem to recall that many assumed the actual price of the vehicle would be well above the oft-quoted $35k figure, due to substantial option selections. My guess then is the percentage that will choose not to activate their Full Self Driving Capability will be less than 20%.

 

[⚡️ELECTROMAN⚡️]

What happens to the people who paid $2500 for AP and their car comes with the new hardware? The base AP is now $5,000. How much will they charge to upgrade to Full Self-Driving Capability?

 

[MorrisonHiker]

What is automatic charge connection and how do you know if your car has it?

If you have DA02 Autopilot then you don't have it. APF1 indicates Full self driving with automatic Supercharger connection capabilities. APE1 indicates Enhanced Autopilot.

 

[Canuck]

For Model 3, that's not a big an issue because by the time you get it, Tesla and the regulators would be further along and the wait for full functionality would be less. However, for those who are contemplating canceling their Model S orders today and reordering to get the opportunity to pay for the enhanced hardware, the wait for full functionality would be that much longer. So, let's say it's 3, 4 or 5 years from now... would you still have the same Model S by then or would you be looking at a replacement which could conceivably have even newer hardware and full software functionality?

Why would Tesla wait to allow the car to do everything autonomously for regulatory approval? We're only talking about removing nags --- basically not having a driver. They can still have the car do a ton more things than it does now without regulatory approval. For instance, reading a stop sign and stopping. You don't need regulatory approval for that. You need regulatory to remove the driver from the equation.

To suggest that it will be "3, 4 or 5 years from now" before AP2.0 pulls away from AP1.0 makes no sense. It's going to be substantially better right out of the gate -- it can see twice as far and in every direction -- and only get better and better from there with each new update.

 

[Tam]

"doing so for revenue purposes will only be permissible on the Tesla network"

wow

Tesla’s new self-driving car can only make you money on the ride-sharing ‘Tesla Network’, not Uber or Lyft

So you provide a new driverless riding service not with Uber or Lyft but with their competitor called "Tesla Network."

 

[987S4]

I'm really really surprised that they're promising level 5. Sounds like they have a plan, but isn't the consensus that the hardware is the 'easy' part but the hardware is hard?

What happens if they can't get the software to work well enough to get level5 going?

 

[Canuck]

Tesla’s new self-driving car can only make you money on the ride-sharing ‘Tesla Network’, not Uber or Lyft

So you provide a new driverless riding service not with Uber or Lyft but with their competitor called "Tesla Network."

If costs are comparable, do we need to wonder who's going to get the most calls?

 

[Lex]

I suspect that the automatic charging is for the car to charge itself, perhaps with NO ONE IN THE CAR

Yep. This. We need this. First.