Tesla Motors, the all-electric vehicle manufacturer, is known for building popular EVs such as the Model 3, Model S, and upcoming Cybertruck. Tesla says it is developing the hardware and software necessary to power the worldโs first self-driving cars. This software costs Tesla owners an additional $8,000 to purchase what it calls the Full Self-Driving Capability suite of features.ย But do all the features of the Full Self-Driving Capability package work as promised? We explain each feature's intendedย use, and show you how they performed in our tests.
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They may have not replied to you professionally/personally. But you’ll likely definitely be hearing from Elon on Twitter again lol.
This video is enough to save those 8k for other life investments
This will be worth tenfold its price if the improvements keep coming as intended. CR just don’t get it.
@Jen You don’t get it. CR’s criticism will push Tesla to make it better, or put it in the grave if it is trash. Either paths are perfectly acceptable. Fanboys like you don’t help at all by supporting defective/junk products.
@Jen …unless the final solution will need another hardware upgrade, as nobody can guarantee the final requirements of something that doesn’t exist yet.
That which Elon can bestow on us, Elon can take away.
The Tesla supercharger requires one to back the car into the stall. Strikes me as not ideal (rather have charger port at front of car) so maybe self parking could be a benefit in recharging.
Tesla review with a Mercedes as background ๐
Based on this review, I would not pay the extra $8000 for the self driving package.
You should never base decisions on Consumer Reports, certainly not when it comes to Tesla. They don’t get it. Base your decisions on what owners think, not reviewers.
If they get to the end game were the vehicle actually drives itself would you pay $15,000 for it? Because if thats where it gets…. I bet the price is going to be even higher. People are buying it A) to be part of the bleeding edge of technology…. and B) protection from price increases which can be dramatic.
Thanks for the warning, I’ll drive my own car for now. No thanks Tesla!
@Carolyn Harmon Did you notice the part where itโs an opt-in feature and you have to go through several confirmation steps to turn this on (including choosing the FSD package and paying for it)? Buying a Tesla doesnโt mean you get strapped in on a scary rollercoaster ride against your will. Itโs not for everyone, thatโs why itโs optional.
Wow, some very valid critiques here. I appreciate Tesla pushing the envelope but they’ve got some more work to do on this system.
Yup. Watch out for magnetics, too. Can really mess with these.
In before the cult arrives to defend the brand & criticize CR.
I took 2 tests drives this week, and will have a Tesla probably later this year. Everything they said here is 100% accurate and fair. Definitely not worth $8,000 to me.
And how is it “full” self-driving exactly?
It’s not and it does not claim it is. They claim it will be.
So basically you pay Tesla $8000 to be their Beta tester ๐ since you donโt even know when full self driving will be legal.
No, you get some cool features at a massive discount. Prices will go up as capabilities increase. Wait and see.
Love to see more objective reviews of Tesla. This $8K feature is clearly not ready for the road.
This why I don’t think FSD is coming anytime soon. Don’t bother checking that $8k option
8000 for something that puts you in danger. Not smart
Looking forward to being run down or forced off the road by one these in the near future.
A very useful review, thanks.
Thanks for the review.
That was a fair review mostly. Smart Summon is a party trick, Navigate on Autopilot does miss exits, and stoplight/stop sign control is more stressful than just turning the feature off.
One thing that was not accurate was to say that “no confirmation” lane changes can cause surprising / dangerous changes. That’s simply not true. No confirmation is a misnomer; it still requires you to confirm the lane change with extra steering feel force, more than the amount needed to keep the car’s lane keeping assist working.
Thank you for the review. I think it is important to hear from people that are trying to be objective on things like the self driving.
Thank you CR for making a good video – with clear notes on what features are still in BETA (requiring opt-in) and what version of the software and hardware your car is currently running. What you presented has been accurate to me as an owner of a Model 3.
Within days or weeks of when you filmed your video, improvements to the BETA features have already been made – such as the green-light stops are no longer a thing. The only point I felt you could have chosen to include within your video, which you might consider in the future, is the frequency in which updates are issued to these cars. So the keyboard warriors ragging on the cost of $8,000 are thinking more about the cars of yesteryear or boxed software where you might get security patches but not totally new features or vastly improved new features after your one-time purchase. The negatives to these frequent updates are that new bugs can appear and drivers need to read and learn over time (which we know people don’t do).
As a more concrete example, we have a 2015 Honda CRV Touring, we paid extra for the Touring and bells and whistles (not too unlike the Tesla’s $8000 package) with Adaptive Cruise and Lane Keep Assist. If Honda wanted to, they could also update vehicle’s software so that it functions better/smoothly/faster AND learns more scenarios where it could handle a situation better (such as on a nearby highway in the fast lane where it reliably wants to drive me into the center divider, every single time).
I am a fan of cars and technology – I’m the biggest fan when those two things are combined making my life better, easier, and more fun. Haven’t quite seen a great combo yet, in any automaker, but at least it appears all automakers are trying.