Tesla Decides To Drop Self-Driving Option That Owners Haven't Been Able To Use

[William Maley]

For the past couple of years, Tesla has been offering an $8,000 "full self-driving" feature for their Autopilot system. But you couldn't use this feature as Tesla had not yet activated this feature. Basically, you were buying a system that Tesla promised would come online sometime in the near future. But that is not happening as Tesla has pulled the option for the time being.

Last night, Tesla CEO Elon Musk tweeted the option has been taken off due to it causing "too much confusion".

Since Tesla began offering the option in October 2016, the company has seen a number of top managers and engineers leave the Autopilot program. A number of owners who paid for the $8,000 option have filed a class-action lawsuit, "alleging they were deceived into buying a feature that didn’t exist."

However, this feature isn't going away. Bloomberg obtained an internal email where Musk told employees they needed about 100 more people to join an internal testing program that is linked to full self-driving feature. 

Source: Bloomberg

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[G. David Felt]

My money is on GM getting there first before Tesla.

[riviera74]

On 10/19/2018 at 4:23 PM, dfelt said:

My money is on GM getting there first before Tesla.

Is self-driving really worth it?  I am not so sure about that.

[G. David Felt]

6 hours ago, riviera74 said:

Is self-driving really worth it?  I am not so sure about that.

It is as it will give the blind as well as others that cannot drive mobility that allows people to more easily get around. The Freedom Machine, AKA Auto with self driving will allow anyone to get around without having to rely on others. There is a valid use case for this on top of all those that really do not want to drive.  More than I think most realize.

[balthazar]

IMO it's far LESS than people realize.
And to date these self-driving options only work on highways- there are still huge barriers for 'door-to-door' operation. Full automous 'door-to-door' vehicles are decades off and the prices will undoubtedly be quite limiting to those physically/visually impaired that may be unable to afford them anyway.
This is still in the fantasy stage vs. the real world.

[smk4565]

Tesla should have a class action lawsuit against the and they should refund that $8,000 to people that bought that option.   This was just a scam to get an extra $8,000 profit per car thinking they could do a software update in a couple years and make it self driving.  It doesn't work like that.

Mercedes has said the 2021 S-class will have Level 3 autonomous driving, and Level 5 is full self driving.  The S-class been a technology leader for decades, and if they are at a Level 3 in 2021, I don't see how Tesla thinks they can get to Level 5 in the next few years.  Maybe 2030 we get fully self driving cars.

[balthazar]

^
• Agreed that Tesla should refund whatever the line item is for the 'self drive'.
• Disagree- you won't see consumer level full self-driving door-to-door vehicles in your lifetime.
• MB had an electric van concept/prototype in the early '70s but never did anything with it. So much for being a tech leader.

[smk4565]

I will for sure see full self drive in my lifetime.  There will be level 4 cars in the 2020s.

[balthazar]

In an article dated Jan 2016, Tesla was claiming all their cars would have "capability" for full autonomy in 2018, and now Tesla is backing down on merely the capability. The only way an autonomous vehicle becomes a viable, consumer-grade product answering the vague 'physically handicapped / blind' demand is at Level 5. Level 4 doesn't matter other than as a step to Level 5.

Edited October 23, 2018 by balthazar

[Robert Hall]

Tesla/Musk says a lot of things.  Not necessarily factual. 

 

[balthazar]

Of course- not much different than -say- Wired magazine stating we'll all be driving EV cars by 2030, or City X saying they're going to ban IC vehicles by 2025. Commonly; a lot of froth.

[Drew Dowdell]

It requires a tremendous amount of processing power and sensory inputs from 360 degrees.   ARGO, one of the self-driving developers located here in Pittsburgh uses Fusion Energi Hybrids specifically because of the big battery they come with to run the computer equipment.  

 

[G. David Felt]

@smk4565

You asked for it, in April 2017 the class action lawsuit was filed. Still growing.

https://www.businessinsider.com/tesla-class-action-lawsuit-autopilot-2-2017-4 

 

[Drew Dowdell]

For @smk4565 and I, self-driving seems a lot closer to reality than most of the rest of you.  Here in Pittsburgh we see self-driving cars so often that they are no longer a novelty.  It used to be a big deal to see the self-driving Volvos in downtown.... now we have vehicles from 2 different fleets testing here (Uber has suspended theirs after the fatality in another city). It's just not a big deal to us anymore to see a self-driving car.... oh... there goes another one.

[balthazar]

This is only 10 months ago :
https://www.theverge.com/2017/12/14/16776466/volvo-drive-me-self-driving-car-sweden-delay

What are the parameters for Volvo's system- inner city or highways only still?

[Drew Dowdell]

5 hours ago, balthazar said:

This is only 10 months ago :
https://www.theverge.com/2017/12/14/16776466/volvo-drive-me-self-driving-car-sweden-delay

What are the parameters for Volvo's system- inner city or highways only still?

That's level 2. The self-driving Volvos in Pittsburgh are higher than that and development is by Uber, not Volvo.

[G. David Felt]

Seems CHP are still smarter than Tesla, a possible DUI was asleep at the wheel with no response to the officers. They positioned themselves in front of the 70 mph Tesla and slowed down which causes the Tesla Autopilot to slow and eventually come to a stop.

The 45 year old driver was arrested under suspicion of DUI.

https://www.autoblog.com/2018/12/03/chp-officers-outsmart-tesla-driver-asleep/

Very Cool!

[balthazar]

^ Ironic. It's been mentioned more than once on these pages that one of the idealistic benefits of AD is drunks can get home, yet here it changed absolutely nothing. And of course; because it cannot drive on city or residential streets. It's a 'Hey- lookit this!' party trick to date. Other than possibly 'getting the public used to the idea', AD right now is like A/C that only lowers the vehicle's interior temp by 5 degrees.