I know you disagree but I don't think Tesla promised any timeline on Autopilot. Several months is basically open ended. I think you'd be hard pressed to make much progress on arguing they aren't meeting such a vague timeline when they have shipped 6.1 with TACC already.
But as far as I'm concerned they've almost certainly already missed the end of January promise. My bet is that they'll have torque sleep out sometime in the first two weeks of February. This is based on what I'm seeing with the S85D orders. My S85D order began production on January 17th and was pulled off the line and is sitting as a painted body waiting on something that is vaguely described as them being sure to provide the best car possible. I've been told I'll resume production in the first 2 weeks of February and other S85D orders are being told their production will begin around that same timeframe. If I assume that the problem is the torque sleep software and the P85D and S85D versions will be available simultaneously then I'd expect them to have the software ready right as they start production so the cars can be shipped with that version shipped from the factory.
I have a lot more understanding of your frustration with them missing that deadline because they gave a clear deadline. That said if things play out like I'm guessing I wouldn't sweat an extra two weeks too much.
Well, as for the autopilot timeline, TACC is not autopilot. There is nothing anywhere in my car that I can enabled that is labeled "Autopilot." My order documents have a paid option labeled "Tech package
with autopilot". Doesn't says "with autopilot hardware that you can't actually do anything with." According to legal paperwork, I'm supposed to have a car with autopilot right now. However, the "several months" timeline isn't really open ended. I wouldn't exactly consider several to be open ended. Generally meaning two or three but not many. That and the fact they used the word "months" would put a cap on the time frame of late Q2 or early Q3 at a maximum IMO.
However, autopilot is a different can of worms than the efficiency issue. We all knew autopilot wasn't active when we purchased, even if Tesla was a bit vague on this if you weren't keeping up with all of the news. So, waiting on that, even if it is several months, is not a deal breaker. Come Q3 and no autopilot, I'll be raising hell, though.
The efficiency issue is something that was a key point in the dual motor setup that was promised and was never ever stated to be less than the existing RWD models
prior to ordering or delivery. Now, over a month after delivery, I, and others, have vehicles that are eating more power than they should and less efficient than what was advertised. Only after the fact, weeks later, did Tesla promise an update to fix this issue, and
they put a time frame on it. This is something that should have been done before delivery and it is really a courtesy on the part of P85D owners that we're even letting Tesla slide on this so long after delivery. Missing the "end of January 2015" time they put on the update themselves, an update we've been told is already in use at Tesla for the EPA numbers and such, is pretty unacceptable and another strike against them in my book if they fail to delivery as promised.
It's not like this is some update for a new feature that Tesla is promising as an improvement on the vehicle that no one expected. This is something that is core and should have already been in the car before I drove away from the service center. Delaying it past then is already bad, but I'll get over that if they can fix it. Delaying it past their own deadline for a fix is worse, however.
I've said it before, if they didn't have it ready to go they shouldn't have put a time on it.
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I think Elon should be banned from using the word "soon" he doesn't know what it means. :wink:
I think Elon should be banned from writing anything about anything that doesn't exist yet (as in available to customers) with regard to Tesla.