100% would buy
without Autopilot. I miss using a real functional cruise control.
(Used it all the time to protect me from my lead foot in previous vehicles... I also miss going 350+ miles at 80+ mph without stopping on road trips, but I knew that ability wasn't a feature of the SR+... I also miss real buttons & switches for doing things without needing to look, but that's another thread)
TACC straight up sucks:
- Panic braking at shadows on an empty street / open freeway
- Panic braking at vehicles turning ahead of my vehicle (vehicles that wouldn't be an impediment to cars 2+ car-lengths closer)
- Panic braking at parked cars that aren't even in my lane of travel
- Slowing down when changing lanes, despite no other vehicles in path within specified follow distance
- All this is still happening on 32.12.2
I wish I had regular cruise control. Just want something that actually works.
Since 'Autopilot' ,aka- Autosteer, appears to be TACC + limited lane following ability, it makes sense that AP / Autosteer sucks too. Both are decent for reducing stress in sunny/clear stop & go traffic, but not much else. IMHO, AP drives like a drunk 8 year old. Yes, I know it is allegedly a beta product. I work with custom hardware/software/AI/ML and understand the definition, so AP seems more an alpha product to me. Anyway... back on topic.
No, I don't expect AP to work outside a highway/freeway/interstate, but I do expect it to be able to follow a lane through a gentle curve at freeway speed. Which it can barely do below 65 mph without swerving & over-correcting, and cannot do above 65 mph without getting too close to nearby cars / leaving the lane a little. When using AP above 65 mph through sweeping curves, it under turns in the beginning and/or middle of the sweeper, then it over-corrects late in the turn and puts itself
far too close to the inside lanes / cars coming out of the turn. I've watched other Model 3s using AP (driver visibly surfing FB and texting in front of their face) ahead of me on the same curve, and their car will 'follow' that curve the same exact way, so I know its not a calibration issue with just my unit.
TL;DR- Seriously, if Tesla can't even make cruise control work correctly, how are they ever going to do anything above Lvl. 2 automation... I drive better with my knee, while eating a taco, sending a voice text, and changing the music than this car can with clean glass/lenses and the latest firmware on an sunny/dry empty freeway. From looking at my car's abilities on TACC & AP, its crystal clear that something approximating FSD is at least several major hardware refreshes away. I do not believe for one second that the current system is even remotely capable of freeway only Lvl. 3 or 4 autonomy in a real and meaningful way.