The Truth About Tesla Autopilot

Separating truth vs lies about Tesla Autopilot & Full-Self Driving after 3 years of driving my Tesla Model 3

Tesla Autopilot has been in the news lately following a horrific car crash in Texas featuring a 2019 Model S in which the cops said they were sure that nobody was in the driver seat. However, Elon Musk tweeted that "Data logs recovered so far show Autopilot was not enabled & this car did not purchase FSD. Moreover, standard Autopilot would require lane lines to turn on, which this street did not have." Elon also said that "Tesla with Autopilot engaged is now approaching 10 times lower chance of accident than average vehicle."

After driving my Tesla Model 3 with Autopilot and Full Self Driving for 3 years, I wanted to share my experience with Tesla Autopilot and explain how it works, what the limits are, and whether I think it's safe.

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[cbuchner]

Wow that is an awesome in-car wideangle. Best I‘ve seen so far. Congrats!

[bigdougscommentary]

I drove coast to coast round trip in 2019. Used autopilot the entire time. Never a problem. Took away the tiredness of driving a long distance.

[karl_wiley]

Keep doing what you're doing, this is great. I send your Model 3/Y guide to people renting my car on Turo (2/2 renters are now getting a Tesla!).

Sadly I think videos like this are sometimes preaching to the choir but as more positive information gets out there the better.

There were a lot of quick reactionary videos in response to the non-Autopilot crash in TX, it's good to see a well thought out overview of Autopilot. Thanks Andy!

[Tiigerr]

Andy I just want to clarify something you said so people don't get the wrong idea safety wise. If the blue "nag" is ignored AP will not completely disengage, it will turn hazards on and slowly bring the car to a stop.

Great video by the way!

[tripjet]

TESLA - Terrible Excuse for Sorry & Lousy Assembly

[AirForce]

Agreed: “FSD Capability” is quite poorly, and misleadingly named. I somewhat disagree about the wireless speaker analogy. Wireless speaker is a pretty well-defined industry term. In the automotive world, there isn’t any well-defined terms/standards for “Full Self Driving”, so it’s going to cause confusion for everybody, in rare circumstances, pretty tragic consequences. Better name would be “Self-Driving Kickstarter Funding” or “Self Driving Crowdsource Investment Pledge”. Nothing “full” about it, since the word “full” implies a completed package.

[dennisb]

Andy-
GREAT SYNOPSIS OF CURRENT & (DISTANT FUTURE) TESLA CAPABILITIES AND CAUTIONS. I too am a happy (but realistic) Tesla advocate. I knew when I bought my Model 3 that I was paying (crowd funding?) for the adventure of being part of a huge voluntary data gathering team that would help Tesla eventually fully develop FSD. I knew that if I wanted, I could trick my Tesla into letting me dazzle my friends by showing them it could drive for a while with no one in the driver’s seat. Fortunately I was not stupid enough or uncaring enough of other’s safety to do that.

[mikesafh]

I believe there is a weight sensor when you activate FSD, but not afterwards. I’ve also seen information indicating they’re using the interior camera to measure driver attention in FSD Beta. But, it’s important to keep in mind that any driver check can be thwarted. Just put a dummy with a realistic face in the driver’s seat (maybe the one used by people to try to cheat in HOV lanes). Fools will always find ways to thwart foolproof features.

[hollyyork]

Thanks, Andy! I sure wish I had seen this before I purchased my Model 3 in September 2021! I sprang for the full self-driving and now it's available by monthly subscription. I haven't even used Autopilot yet but your video encourages me to do so. I appreciate your balanced comments.

[ob]

I wish Tesla consider changing names to Not-an-Autopilot and Almost Full Self Driving. People would be still able to recognize what that function is, it still has the marketing words in it (and a joke part) and NOBODY would ever be able to complain about it.

[michaelh]

Hey Andy! Thanks for the honest reviews!

[FrederickKoehlmann]

Well done video. Simple, instructive and clear. I find it hard to understand why other people can't understand that when Tesla says that FSD is in Beta, and not ready, that they think that it is? Nor why people think that autopilot doesn't require a driver? We have planes that have autopilot, but we know the pilots have to constantly monitor the systems and take over when they need to. We have boats that have autopilot, but they can only go from one GPS coordinate to another and do not avoid other vessels or nautical obstructions. The pilot must still monitor the vessel and make corrections. So why people don't get it when it comes to the road, go figure!

[DScott-bpvu]

I love your videos, very educational.... you are my #1 Tesla research can't wait to get one!

[noahabrams]

Thanks for this video. With all the misinformation out there these days, it is important for everyone to understand this.

[Chrisbs]

I wish consumer reports would put any other car in Cruise control, and slip out of the drivers seat over to the passenger seat and see what happens.

Seriously.

[mr.blanco]

they need to substantially lower FSD. $10K is an extreme option cost. Maybe $5k.

[williammoberly]

I did not buy FSD on my 21. It should be here by the end of June ! I can’t wait to experience Tesla

[lukeandrews]

I also have full self driving and use it all the time. Still lots of work to do but it’s phenomenal. The self driving doesn’t understand common courtesy’s with driving (blocking turn lane, letting a car out into traffic, etc), moving over in the lane or just outside the lane for walkers/joggers/bikers and it will stop on a railroad track versus stopping before. Love it though and worth the cost.

[tyranelewis]

That was awesome . I have AP1 with auto steer and i enjoy it still. Yes we need to be responsible drivers still. I agree with all you shared. I just shared with a friend who is concerned about AP and is on the list to get a Tesla. keep up the great work Andy!!

[mitchellbarnow]

When you and I purchased our Model 3’s, only basic cruise control was included and none of the driving safety features that are standard with every Toyota were included. We paid $5, 000 to get those features, while Full Self Driving was another $3, 000 for me and $2, 000 for you. I wanted a no-charge update to my computer and that encouraged me to buy FSD.
Tesla then told everybody that autopilot would now be a standard feature, but that confused everyone that did not read the fine print. What you received was what we used to get for $5, 000. People got their new Teslas and the first time that they tried to do a lane change, nothing happened, because they only had radar cruise control, lane keeping assist and many other electronic safety aids that are standard on every Toyota.
I believe that Tesla has the best of intentions, but the words that they use can be very misleading.