Obviously this is a personal decision based on budget and feature-preference. Personally I think it’s very much worth it, an innate part of Tesla, also fun to be a part of a very exciting developing technology. I consider it more a co-pilot than an autopilot currently. I am fine playing the role of a beta tester and take the limitations seriously. In its current form I consider it safer with it than without when used properly, and improving rapidly.(I cut Elon a lot of slack on his oft missed timelines. He eventually produces on most promises)
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Is autopilot worth it?
- Thread starter BourneM3
- Start date
No for me. I find myself not using it as much as I thought I would. (That could be b/c it's not completely auto and other quirks when in use.) However, when I'm on the interstate three days out of the week, I'm enjoying weaving in and out of traffic at higher than normal speeds for which AP just isn't designed for.
Mo City
Active Member
For me, TACC in heavy freeway traffic is worth it 10 times over. It removes all the tension and stress.
Telstar
Member
I took delivery on my P3 a few weeks ago and ordered it without autopilot. I'm in the middle of my free trial period right now. At this time, I don't think it's worth the money. I don't do very much freeway driving, but if I did I still wouldn't pay any more than $1,000 for it.
I think how it typically works is you'll receive/install a software update, on the next drive the car calibrates AP in the background without any indication to you, then the next time you drive you'll get the notice that the AP trial is ready. That's how it happened for me.
I was initially disappointed the software update didn't deliver the AP trial, when it later turned out it actually had, but it just didn't mention it yet.
willow_hiller
Well-Known Member
For us the trial started after our first software update, but that might have been a coincidence. I think the computer needs a few dozen miles to calibrate before it will pop up.
I'm currently on my trial and have 50 days or so left. I don't think I'm buying it. With my work hours and commute, it's just not worth it. I think once FSD is massed enough users and Tesla profits a bit, I think it'll drop in price. Plus 3-5 years down the road, HW3+ would be worth the investment if it makes the software faster/better.
Ahh - thanks guys.
I still haven't gotten the 2019.8.x update yet. Still on 2019.5.15
Adding a data point... I had 280 miles at Day 10 of ownership. Got updated from 2018.50.6 to 2019.8.5 yesterday, then within 3 hours updated to 2019.8.6. This morning touchscreen showed the availability of 60 day Autopilot Trial. I did drive the car about 25 miles after the first update.
I think I was firmly in the "not worth it" category after the old 2 week trial of EAP and the previous price structure. With the separation of AP and FSD to include more of the EAP features in the FSD package, and drop the price of AP, I'd still say at the current pricing it's not worth it (but it was during that short 'sale' period). I jumped on AP at the discounted rate (which after taxes ended up being close to 3k CAD), and that was just on/over the edge of what I felt comfortable paying for it.
It's nice for longer trips on the highway where there isn't much traffic. I think it does make me a bit safer driving, as it maintains the speed set, and isn't as aggressive as I would likely be. In stop and go traffic it's ok, but it's also a bit lethargic in the "go" parts of stop and go, and lets lots of people in, which can get annoying IMO. Also why I'm not a big fan of it during heavier moving traffic, unless you're sitting in the right lane and just chilling. I still scratch my head at people paying the much higher cost for AP, and definitely don't get the FSD excitement at that cost. Yes FSD is a neat party trick, but I can't see myself using any of the features regularly even if they worked very well (summon is mostly pointless - I'd never park the car in a tight spot out of fear of others hitting me; the advanced summon looks silly in its current iteration, and the car seems quite poor at picking up pedestrians consistently, I can park the car myself, and auto lane changes are out of my comfort zone). AP still makes me nervous many times, and I don't think I'd be comfortable giving up that control for anything more than lane keeping and TACC. Not currently at least. And even when the time comes that the car can "drive across the country" unassisted, I don't see the draw of that. The one place it gets me excited is if I can send the car to pick up family while I'm at work, or avoid parking fees altogether by having it drop me off then go home and park itself (I think this is a pipe dream that is a long ways away). Also neat would be having it drop you off for a hike or river trip, and pick you up at the other end of your adventure. Otherwise, no thanks; it's too fun to drive, and the AP/FSD features are too pricey for me (and this is a do not want to pay, not a cannot afford to pay argument here).
One scenario I can see myself paying the FSD premium is when (if) the Tesla Taxi/ride share service comes in to play, and my car is older and I'm ready for a new one. Instead of selling/junking it, I can pay the upgrade cost, and put my car to work full time
It's nice for longer trips on the highway where there isn't much traffic. I think it does make me a bit safer driving, as it maintains the speed set, and isn't as aggressive as I would likely be. In stop and go traffic it's ok, but it's also a bit lethargic in the "go" parts of stop and go, and lets lots of people in, which can get annoying IMO. Also why I'm not a big fan of it during heavier moving traffic, unless you're sitting in the right lane and just chilling. I still scratch my head at people paying the much higher cost for AP, and definitely don't get the FSD excitement at that cost. Yes FSD is a neat party trick, but I can't see myself using any of the features regularly even if they worked very well (summon is mostly pointless - I'd never park the car in a tight spot out of fear of others hitting me; the advanced summon looks silly in its current iteration, and the car seems quite poor at picking up pedestrians consistently, I can park the car myself, and auto lane changes are out of my comfort zone). AP still makes me nervous many times, and I don't think I'd be comfortable giving up that control for anything more than lane keeping and TACC. Not currently at least. And even when the time comes that the car can "drive across the country" unassisted, I don't see the draw of that. The one place it gets me excited is if I can send the car to pick up family while I'm at work, or avoid parking fees altogether by having it drop me off then go home and park itself (I think this is a pipe dream that is a long ways away). Also neat would be having it drop you off for a hike or river trip, and pick you up at the other end of your adventure. Otherwise, no thanks; it's too fun to drive, and the AP/FSD features are too pricey for me (and this is a do not want to pay, not a cannot afford to pay argument here).
One scenario I can see myself paying the FSD premium is when (if) the Tesla Taxi/ride share service comes in to play, and my car is older and I'm ready for a new one. Instead of selling/junking it, I can pay the upgrade cost, and put my car to work full time
I think I was firmly in the "not worth it" category after the old 2 week trial of EAP and the previous price structure. With the separation of AP and FSD to include more of the EAP features in the FSD package, and drop the price of AP, I'd still say at the current pricing it's not worth it (but it was during that short 'sale' period). I jumped on AP at the discounted rate (which after taxes ended up being close to 3k CAD), and that was just on/over the edge of what I felt comfortable paying for it.
It's nice for longer trips on the highway where there isn't much traffic. I think it does make me a bit safer driving, as it maintains the speed set, and isn't as aggressive as I would likely be. In stop and go traffic it's ok, but it's also a bit lethargic in the "go" parts of stop and go, and lets lots of people in, which can get annoying IMO. Also why I'm not a big fan of it during heavier moving traffic, unless you're sitting in the right lane and just chilling. I still scratch my head at people paying the much higher cost for AP, and definitely don't get the FSD excitement at that cost. Yes FSD is a neat party trick, but I can't see myself using any of the features regularly even if they worked very well (summon is mostly pointless - I'd never park the car in a tight spot out of fear of others hitting me; the advanced summon looks silly in its current iteration, and the car seems quite poor at picking up pedestrians consistently, I can park the car myself, and auto lane changes are out of my comfort zone). AP still makes me nervous many times, and I don't think I'd be comfortable giving up that control for anything more than lane keeping and TACC. Not currently at least. And even when the time comes that the car can "drive across the country" unassisted, I don't see the draw of that. The one place it gets me excited is if I can send the car to pick up family while I'm at work, or avoid parking fees altogether by having it drop me off then go home and park itself (I think this is a pipe dream that is a long ways away). Also neat would be having it drop you off for a hike or river trip, and pick you up at the other end of your adventure. Otherwise, no thanks; it's too fun to drive, and the AP/FSD features are too pricey for me (and this is a do not want to pay, not a cannot afford to pay argument here).
One scenario I can see myself paying the FSD premium is when (if) the Tesla Taxi/ride share service comes in to play, and my car is older and I'm ready for a new one. Instead of selling/junking it, I can pay the upgrade cost, and put my car to work full time
Do you like the TACC feature, of the AP by itself? I think this is the feature that is the most interesting, really not sure myself on the autosteer part of it.
This is a bit of a quandary for me. Long term I think I'd definitely like FSD but I'm loathe to pay for vaporware and I kind of resent the way Tesla is incentivizing buyers to pull the trigger. I ordered our MR M3 with autopilot but not FSD. My wife specifically asked the rep at the store if autopilot included automatic lane changes and the rep said "yes". But that function is not working. I've scheduled a service appointment but I'm also reading about how EAP became AP and I'm a bit worried that this change applied to our car and that we were misinformed about what's included.
Anyway, the car is amazing and I can't imagine why anyone would want to buy an ICE automobile now. It's such a game changing product, but I'm fairly nonplussed about the loosey-goosey, wild west marketing and pricing that Tesla employs. I'm hoping that at some point FSD capabilities will be realized, legal, and made available to me for no more than $5k.
Anyway, the car is amazing and I can't imagine why anyone would want to buy an ICE automobile now. It's such a game changing product, but I'm fairly nonplussed about the loosey-goosey, wild west marketing and pricing that Tesla employs. I'm hoping that at some point FSD capabilities will be realized, legal, and made available to me for no more than $5k.
Silver Rocket
Member
Silver Rocket
Member
To be honest, I think I preferred the control of the non-TACC: I referred to it as 'one thumb driving' because you can just flick the wheel to adjust your speed as needed. If I'm engaging anything, it's AP with lane keeping and TACC. If it's just TACC, I tend to just drive the car full out. I'm not sure why I don't use TACC alone... maybe I'll try that option out! Is it just one press down instead of two to activate? (This is how little I use it!)
timk225
Active Member
The answer is simple. It costs more money.
I got my 3 LR RWD on May 8, but I didn't get AP until early March, when EAP became AP and it went on sale for $2000. Even then I had to push myself a little to click the BUY button, I was half asleep late at night when I did it. But I had my $7000+ tax refund in the bank, thanks to the tax credit, so that made it easier.
If you're thinking of upgrading from AP to FSD, my advice is to wait until the last month of each financial quarter (March, June, September, December). That's when Tesla gets worried about keeping the stockholders and financial tv show people happy, and puts things on sale to drag more money out of us. The true FSD doesn't exist yet, so you're not missing too much, just navigate on AP and turn signal lane changes.
Zenov
Member
So a couple of things to note. For me it's a hard no. I'm on the 60-day trial of AP+FSD. It's fairly fun but not for that kind of money. I have to intervene fairly often, I have to keep my hand on the wheel, which on the freeway is akin to me driving anyways AND to top it all off NOAP is non-functional in heavy rain....I live in Vancouver BC where heavy rain happens 2/3 of the year rendering NOAP basically useless. I just had the warning it wasn't working last night.
The last thing I really want to emphasize is that AP uses brakes far more than most human drivers would instead of regen. This will result in higher brake pad wear as well as lots more brake dust on your rims as noted by more than a few people. This is a huge no no from me.
The last thing I really want to emphasize is that AP uses brakes far more than most human drivers would instead of regen. This will result in higher brake pad wear as well as lots more brake dust on your rims as noted by more than a few people. This is a huge no no from me.
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