AP1 cars had autosteer, yes. Cars capable of it were built as early as Sept 2014, though the autosteer feature didn't appear for another year.
Autosteer was enabled on my 2014 P85D in mid-2015 (I do not recall the date). At the time I downloaded the update in Columbus, Ohio and immediately drove to Miami, FL using the new capability. Back then it was truly amazing to use and even in that primitive form managed to survive some construction areas around Cincinnati, Ohio.
FWIW, I've paid for that on my two other Tesla's too. It has constantly improved, but only with the latest updates has seemed to approach the promise of version 12. OTOH, only a fool could mistake the present capabilities as autonomous, or neglect to be very diligent.
As a former active pilot (ATP with a few type ratings) I have had several times when the autopilot failed, including one in a Learjet at FL410, where use of the autopilot was mandatory due to high altitude instability. I survived. So did the airplane although i soon transitioned to a single pilot easier to control plane.
The regulatory regime that blames the OEM for operator error is similar to that of the early Learjets which crashed with alarming regularity (check learjet 23 history) which in turn ended out spawning the type rating system. That, in my view, was a GOOD thing. I taught a good many people to fly those things, which made them safer even when flying airliners and Citations, both built to be flown by nearly incompetent people. We will end out with FSD similar to current generation Fly-by-wire Airbus/Dassault and even the Boeing 777/787 (excluding the fossilized B737 of course).
In automobile operation almost every country neglects driver training and none, I think, have any standard at all for automobile operation apart from a handful that differentiate between manual gear change and automatic. Some of that training would be worthwhile IMHO.
Going back to 2015 our own @Papfox opined on this subject in brilliant form:
With 40 years of experience as a flight instructor, let me show you how I'd teach the Tesla Autopilot to a flight student. Work with me and we'll get you flying solo soon. Welcome to groundschool! Before we jump into the Tesla and take off on our first autopilot session, some knowledge of the...
teslamotorsclub.com
Would it not benefit everyone by teaching drivers how to avoid the 'lowest common denominator' approach now in place? It will not happen.of course, but it should! Soon, though, we'll have genuine Level 4 and Level 5 automobiles. Then it will not matter any more.
