[bmcahren]

Base auto-pilot works in stop and go traffic, understands stop lights and stop signs (stops for red), as well as highway speeds. It works through construction sites with orange cone lane changes over ignored white lines. For 90% of driving, you're not going to notice the difference. If you care about the other 5-9% and the added safety improvements of a system that actually understands the road, other vehicles, construction and not just the lane lines you should definitely consider a Tesla.

With their upgraded auto-pilot the car detects and automatically passes other drivers, takes exits, can completely handle complex interchanges by itself changing lanes to find exits while getting in the correct lane, slows while passing, gives trucks extra space on the highway, can handle complex construction zones without leaving it's often confusing lane, automatically exits the passing lane when not passing, etc.

Just the precision with which it can change lanes in dense traffic is so relieving. I hate changing lanes without it. I now spend my time keeping a close eye on idiot drivers while the car manages the lane change minutia - don't hit the car up front, make sure I have space, make sure no one is passing on the right, make sure no one is cutting off the space im trying to use from the 2nd from the right, look forward, look back, look forward again to check traffic, look back - never again.

I inherently trust the Tesla to drive better than me most of the time. I inherently trust the Tesla to drive better than 98% of other drivers.

[avereveard]

> It works through construction sites with orange cone lane changes

it only took a couple of deaths to train their ai for construction sites.

> Just the precision with which it can change lanes in dense traffic is so relieving.

parked white trucks still a issue tho.

this whole thing reads like a marketing brochure, while conveniently ignoring the trail of deaths the tesla gung-ho attitude about releases brought.

[40four]

Yeah, you are pointing out many of the notable edge cases when things went south. To be fair, Tesla autopilot is not technically ’self driving’, and Elon still refuses to call it that. The driver is still expected to be alert and monitor the system, keeping you hands near the wheel and touching it every few seconds.

So, accidents like you describe are not to be unexpected. People get complacent and think it really is a self driving car when it’s not. But let’s not discount the amazing level of sophistication Tesla has achieved in this system. It’s really impressive, and head and shoulders above anything else available.

That being said, I would wager that the high profile accidents you mention were due to drivers being negligent and abusing the system, where they should have been alert and paying attention like we all do when we drive.