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If you use Autopilot for any length of time and believe that you don't need to be paying attention, then I'd suggest that you're responsible for whatever fate b
by EngineerBetter 9y ago
If you use Autopilot for any length of time and believe that you don't need to be paying attention, then I'd suggest that you're responsible for whatever fate befalls you.
Autopilot 2 keeps you in lane, does traffic-aware cruise control, and can do lane changes. That's it. No more, no less.
It sometimes gets spooked by shadows. I've had it brake sharply when going under bridges on the motorway, because of the shadow on the road. I've had it mis-read lane markers (in understandable circumstances; the old lines had been removed but the marks they left still contrasted with the tarmac).
If anything, I find Autopilot 2 to require too much hand-holding - literally! I rest my right hand gently on the bottom-right of the wheel when Autopilot is engaged, resting my wrist on my knee, which is also how I drive regular cars on the motorway. This isn't enough for Autopilot to think I've got my hands on the wheel, so it's constantly bugging me, and I have to wiggle the wheel to tell it I'm there.
Apparently some Model 3s have been seen with driver-facing cameras. Eye-tracking seems like a much better solution to me.
I love Autopilot. I recently had to drive ~500 miles on motorways in a thing that explodes ancient liquidised organic matter, and it was an absolute chore. Autopilot is ace when used as intended, and great in traffic jams.
- lagadu 9y agoI don't understand why you're mixing autopilot with IC engines here. The two things are completely unrelated.
- makecheck 9y agoThere is a ton of electric power available for features in a Tesla that might require an irresponsible amount of fuel in a regular car.
- mikeyouse 9y agoWhat? IC cars have been shipping with all of the features currently available in Teslas for the better part of a decade. 1 horsepower = 745 watts, so we're talking about somewhere in the range of 20HP to generate as much power as the average Tesla consumption including powering the drivetrain. I'd be surprised if all the electric features in a Tesla consume more than 5HP equivalent.
- makecheck 9y agoWell for instance, a Tesla can run the AC as often as it wants to keep the car cool when you are away; there's no risk of "killing" its battery like in a regular car. Every device, all of it can turn on at will and not be too concerned about power.
- lagadu 9y agoThe same is true for any IC car whose engine is on. It's the alternator that generates the power used; it's not taken from the battery. IC cars even have the bonus that heating the cabin is effectively free, no extra battery drain from it.