Would you still have bought your model 3 if it never had autopilot?

[Kleenerth3]

Such sweet bliss that is provided by autopilot. Driving 1200+ miles solo in a 24 hour period is something I have enjoyed so much as strange as that may sound. Driving a normal ICE or a Tesla without AP over the same distances is not comparable. Did it once this summer. Exhausting and scary.

Yet I still would have bought a Tesla without AP. I drive. As in I love to drive long distances to crazy places. I also love to feel the wheel and enjoy the drive of the car. Put a rolling 12 months 90k plus now on two Tesla's. I drove that much pre BEV.

The beauty of an electric drivetrain, with sleek lines seen in both the S & 3 are just classic. Just my thoughts. Great designs with a thoughtful sporty drive in both sedans is just great. AP is just icing on the cake..... Which I could have explained more earlier, but was in the middle of something.

@Darren S

I hadn't thought about the "I have to go to___ , now!" I made several of those from S.D. to Denver non-stop, 15 hrs. I would have loved to have AP just to take a stretch and get blood back into the glutes.
So cool that if I had to again, I could update and be ready to go tomorrow...

 

[Kleenerth3]

@outdoors, it's always fun to hear road trip stories from others. Those 1,200'ish-mile days are fun to do a time or two just to see if it's still possible but it's equally as fun to drive twisty roads without AP so it's a good vehicle to have that option.

I had to click and agree! Those drives, as butt numbing and back aching as they were at the time, gave me some of the greatest memories of my life. What you mentioned at the end is the 3's greatest asset, options.

 

[OCR1]

I thought Autopilot was such a unique feature that it really was one of the main things that motivated us to buy our first Model 3. After trying it out for a while and realizing that we rarely drive long distances on the freeway, I came to the conclusion that Autopilot is not really very important to me. So when we bought our second Model 3 we skipped Autopilot completely and I don’t miss it at all.

I still think the Model 3 is the most fun car to drive that I’ve personally owned. So I’m not in any hurry to turn over my driving to a computer. It takes all of my fun away.

 

[Burrito]

I take issue with you @Mr. Burrito !

 

[MXWing]

Assuming Tesla's autopilot never existed and Tesla only had the typical auto emergency braking, lane keep assist, etc. that other manufacturers have (and no promise for a future system), would you have still have bought your model 3?

You basically described my 3SR.

 

[Wennfred]

Assuming Tesla's autopilot never existed and Tesla only had the typical auto emergency braking, lane keep assist, etc. that other manufacturers have (and no promise for a future system), would you have still have bought your model 3?

Kauai Tesla Stats
2 Model S
4 Model 3

Nissan Leafs
Lots!

ALOHA!

Currently on Auto Pilot but out off the coast of Kauai and the cell signal works better out here... to answer your question, Yes. I would get a model 3 without a computer.

Fred

 

[Rottenapplr]

Yes it’s all about ev and driving cleaner cars

 

[Wennfred]

Yes it’s all about ev and driving cleaner cars

Nah! It’s about having fun. : )

Fred

 

[Knightshade]

Nope.

autopilot is literally the reason I bought the car... (my daily drive is 70-80 miles, 95% highway, often in some significant traffic)

If it didn't exist I'd still be driving my 2008 Lexus IS350, which probably had another 10 years/100k miles before it needed anything major done to it.

The model 3 was the first sub-100k car I'd driven that actually did something worth a crap my Lexus didn't do. (nearly) drive itself on 95% of my commute.

 

[KathyApplebaum]

Originally planned to buy it without EAP -- I just wanted an EV with way better range and charging network than my 2014 Leaf. But as the time drew closer, I realized my commute would improve a lot with TACC, so I decided to get the full monty. So glad I did.

 

[Feathermerchan]

Bought mine W/O Autopilot. Tried the free 30 day trial and did not buy it. I'd rather drive and it's not ready for prime time IMO.
On a long cross country drive or daily commute maybe....
I bought the performance car to drive.

 

[strykeroz]

I didn't even know SR+ came with AP until after I brought it home. It never factored in the decision to buy, but it's been a happy and useful surprise.

 

[focher]

It wasn't a factor in the decision for either our X or 3P, but I use it every single day.

 

[St☰v☰]

100% yes, I didn’t even try autopilot till the third time I drove a Model 3.

I don't think I tried AP for a couple of months, seriously. I didn't buy it for the AP or FSD, but rather because it's the finest electric vehicle on the road today (IMO).

 

[djroberts]

Assuming Tesla's autopilot never existed and Tesla only had the typical auto emergency braking, lane keep assist, etc. that other manufacturers have (and no promise for a future system), would you have still have bought your model 3?

I did, actually. I could add it later but for now I'm good.

 

[S4WRXTTCS]

Ha, I probably would have been more enthusiastic about buying it.

This whole AP/FSD is a HUGE distraction from what really makes the car amazing.

So much so that pretty much all the AP/FSD related stuff fails any kind of torture test.

Like Pedestrian detection failed AAA's test, and didn't ace the IIHS test which was a far more simple test.
AP has false braking events that are routinely complained about, and CR even mentioned that Tesla AP2+ had considerably more than other competitors.
Navigate on Autopilot has failed every test I've given it
Smart Summon failed, and in researching its failure I realized that it was relying on OpenStreetmaps so I took time out to update it for where I'm testing it. I'll retry again later.

So yeah if I had the Tesla with just some basic Adaptive cruise control system I'd have a very capable car without any of the drama of FSD.

 

[Fernand]

It's not a well-worded question, because the car is phenomenal anyway. But I understood right away that the automation is critical for me. That it's in its infancy now, but it's where all cars are headed, and I'm not waiting for them.

No question that a human can, when fully focused, drive better than current automation. But I don't WANT to waste energy on "fully focused", unless it's a "scheduling emergency" .

After a few weeks really learning how to best use it, and that's what it takes, I have zero interest in going back to a manual car. I got a Model S loaner while Tesla works on my Model 3. The S is an Enterprise Rental 75D with no AP/AS, no NOA. Gorgeous, very "luxurious" car. Feels like a rotary phone to me. I can't wait to get my Model 3 back.

People who have AP/AS and NOA, and occasionally "torture test" it, then say it's not good enough, are doing themselves a disfavor. There are situations to not use it in, and (more) situations where it's a god-send. Some day you won't need to, but currently it takes some time and effort to figure out.
.

 

[tomot]

Bought my car without autopilot. I was given a free 30 day trial of autopilot and I'm glad I didn't pay extra to get it. If and when it becomes fully autonomous, I'll buy it then.

I was hoping Tesla would give everyone a free 30 day trial, I never one!. .....Poor marketing!

 

[UTMB]

No question that Autopilot was attractive. In the six months between my test drive and actually buying the Model 3 I had probably a dozen episodes of close calls in traffic jams, in my BMW. “Jeez, could have used autopilot there.”

But the real tipping points were other, more relevant features, like range, safety ratings, handling, acceleration, the sound system, wide charging network, OTA updates, trusted individuals who raved about their Tesla, phone key, climate control (so underrated), the otaku salespeople (I mean that in a good way).

And value.

The only serious contender was the Nissan Leaf, and it seemed awfully expensive for what it offered. And it also had a serious battery problem that wasn’t going to be solved. Plus the dealership seemed pretty unenthusiastic.

And there was no flipping way that I was going to buy another ICE car. I was sick of the exhaust, gas fumes, dripping grease and the inexcusable problems that I had with my Audi A4 and BMW 135i. I hated the trips to the service center, especially with the Audi. Both cars were fun to drive, but both had serious quality problems in the first two weeks of ownership, problems that took 3 attempts to fix. Plus others that left me stranded. These were premium cars. I’ll say it again: there is no flipping way that I will buy another ICE car.

 

[Wennfred]

I was hoping Tesla would give everyone a free 30 day trial, I never one!. .....Poor marketing!

When I got my M3 in March, I took a road trip to Las Vegas to run a test on actual range with the Nav station. Mid way into my trip on the I-15 I got the notification to try Auto Pilot, it would not release the screen, it was either except or decline. I wasn’t in the right area or time frame to play with Auto Pilot so I declined to get my screen back. I wrote Tesla about this last month and they said no, there are no more 30 day trials. Just watching to see if Tesla drops the price to 2k, if not I’m fine with not having it.

Fred