$35,000 Tesla Model III Is Coming In 2017

[Kaido]

That really bites. I'm not in the market for a Tesla anytime soon, but I've played with the TM3 configurator. At first I thought "great!" Autopilot is cheaper, and I would never buy FSD because level 4/5 automation is nowhere near ready, and many experts don't think you can even do it without LIDAR.

Personally, I think skipping LIDAR was a mistake. LIDAR tech has been improving & is shrinking in size quite rapidly. It's super useful for detecting things like road debris, for example, especially for little skinny pieces of say shredded tire tread from an 18-wheeler. But, they also wouldn't have been able to make progress on FSD if they had sat around waiting for the tech to get better. We'll see what the future holds!

 

[Aikouka]

So, I learned a bit of a fun fact about my car last night. I went to the grocery store, and I'll usually place my groceries in the frunk as they're far less likely to shift around unlike if they were in the trunk. I packed the items in there, and I thought "it looks close, but I think it'll fit fine...". I closed the hood, and everything seemed good... until I started driving and I got a huge warning that my frunk was open and that I had to pull over immediately. I pulled into a parking lot, and closed it again. I didn't even get out of the lot when the warning came back up. This time, I took out a bag with some two-liter bottles in it as those seemed like they were a bit too high. Things seemed good until I got to an interstate entrance when it popped up again. Fortunately, there was ample room to pull over, and I moved the majority of the bags to the trunk this time. I didn't have an issue after that.

Two things came to my mind. The frunk was definitely closed each time, but it seems like it will automatically release if there's enough pressure? Also, when the Model 3 started getting delivered, people were disappointed that the frunk simply popped up and not open all the way. They started replacing the hood's struts/pistons with higher power units out of a Jeep, which would pop the frunk open rather quickly. After this debacle, I realized that given how easily the frunk can open, making it pop up all the way is a REALLY BAD IDEA. Oh, and "it looks close" means either reorganize until it looks good, or move some things.

Oh, and one piece of advice to any future owners, when you're getting out of the car and want to access the frunk and the charging. Make sure you open up the frunk before you start messing with anything else. If the car locks, the frunk will latch closed again. So, even though it's popped up, you won't be able to open it without opening the frunk again. So, I'll normally get out of the car, close the door, open up the frunk, and then mess with the charger. Oh, and the car will not automatically lock itself if the trunk is open. So, if you have that open too, you should be good.

 

[Kaido]

I borrowed a friend's SR3+AP for the afternoon to visit a client. Initial thoughts:

1. Soooooo much fun to drive. I know a lot of gearheads hate on electrics, but I had a blast throwing it around corners! I live in an area with a lot of hills & curves; it's amazing how effortless climbing steep hills is in an EV!

2. Supercharging is surprisingly quick, especially when you don't stay in the car. I stopped to get some lunch by a supercharger & had to run out to move the car, because they start charging you for every minute you stay over your charging time (I believe it's something like a dollar a minute, with a 5-minute grace period), so as not to lock up the space for other drivers. It's not as big of a hassle as I would have thought.

3. AP is amazing on good roads. I didn't realize how much (minor) stress you carry when you're driving a car...AP really lets you relax on the highway!

4. AP is also scary. Humans are habitual creatures & it's super easy to get lulled into a false sense of security. There were many quirks:

a) When I went to lunch, I took a friend, so we hit up the HOV lane. On the first exit onto the highway, it stayed in the HOV lane. In the second exit, which went into the city, it decided to take that, instead of staying in the HOV lane. Granted, this did not have FSD, therefore it did not have Navigate on Autopilot, but the inconsistent behavior was kind of scary. You absolutely have to treat it like cruise control & be ready to intervene at a moment's notice.

b) It likes to stay in the lane, right in the center. When you're driving next to a semi-truck that's shimmying around its lane, you tend to move off to the side to allow for some buffer space. I know the 3 will "dodge" side impacts automatically, but it's disconcerting when you're inches away from an 18-wheeler that is ping-ponging in its own lane.

c) I wish it had some type of per-user AI recording scheme, because I'd really like it to mimic how I personally drive. There were times when it was too aggressive, and times when it was too nice. Like when people were exiting the highway, it really slowed down to let exit ahead of the car.

d) Zero pothole & drain avoidance. BOY that was annoying. It just ran right over everything! Every single grate it could find, it didn't just weave a little around it, just went straight over it! Definitely driving in the center lane on 3-lane highways is a better route to go.

e) Detected vehicles sometimes did a crazy dance across the screen. There was a box truck next to me & it virtually ran me over a couple times, and glitch-lagged across the screen multiple times. Kinda weird!

5. Automatic wipers were 100% useless.

6. It is annoying that they split out AP vs. FSD. Really wish standard AP had the automatic lane change & parking features.

7. Personally, still a little snug for me. I can man-spread in my Mustang & cruise for hours in a relaxed position, if needed; the 3 was still a little bit narrow for my legs.

8. Voice commands are pretty meh. They need Alexa in the car.

9. Sound system was amazing. HUGE soundstage! Really surprisingly good, for everything from Taylor Swift to Metallica.

10. I both liked & disliked the GUI. It's usable, but I feel like it could be far easier to use while you're driving. A lot of buttons are smaller than my fingernail. It's too much like an Android tablet & not enough like a car interface that should have large control surfaces with easy, intuitive navigation while driving a two-ton car. I'm sure you get used to it in pretty short order, but still.

11. This model had the 19" rims. I didn't notice a huge difference in ride quality between the 18" aeros and the 20" performance wheels. Usually, the amount of rubber affects the right, but I guess due to the weight of the car, they all handle the road pretty decently well, as far as bumps & other imperfections go. Boy those aero rims are ugly, haha! Makes you feel like you're driving a vintage Honda Insight hybrid, lol.

12. The red with white pleather looks amazing. This model was black, and I was surprised at how good it looked for just the basic black, especially with the chrome trim; I usually prefer the chrome delete, but it looked pretty good on the black model!

13. Visibility is great, and the open front dashboard & windshield makes you feel "one with the road". The car reacts exactly how you want it to, it's a great driving experience!

14. Even with RWD, even in the rain, I couldn't get the back-end to slide out, which is pretty easy to do in my Mustang when I want to throw it around a corner (or even just on accident, lol).

15. Even though it didn't have the "premium" seats (it had the slightly-upgraded-stock seats, or whatever), they were still super comfortable. Proper lumbar support for once!!

Overall, it was a great driving experience. AP is really neat, with the caveat that you have to babysit it & be ready to take control. As a geek, I'd enjoy having AP, but with how variable it is, how unfinished it is, and how the updates change the behavior, I'm fine with relying on EyeSight for my family right now.

 

[JEDI]

d) Zero pothole & drain avoidance. BOY that was annoying. It just ran right over everything! Every single grate it could find, it didn't just weave a little around it, just went straight over it! Definitely driving in the center lane on 3-lane highways is a better route to go.

couldnt you grab the wheel and override to avoid?
How does it treat a dead animal in the middle of the road?

also, no magnetic shocks to glide over the potholes/grates?

 

[Kaido]

couldnt you grab the wheel and override to avoid?
How does it treat a dead animal in the middle of the road?

also, no magnetic shocks to glide over the potholes/grates?

1. When the car is self-driving, it's managing the steering wheel. You just have to nudge the steering wheel every once in awhile to let the computer know you're still alive. To take control, you either have to pop the right stalk up (double-click down to activate AP), or wrestle control from the steering wheel, which it will mildly resist (for safety reasons, so you don't accidentally put yourself into a dangerous situation), and which takes a split-second to activate control back to you. The stalk-up method takes a second ahead of foresight & arm movement, whereas the wheel requires a bit of force to overtake (so you don't like bump it on accident & throw it out of self-driving mode), and then disables Autopilot because internally its like "okay, YOU'RE in control now!" So neither one really works too well for super-fast adjustments, especially if there are multiple potholes or grates or whatever to avoid.

2. Didn't run into any roadkill. Some older Youtube videos say that it does not avoid roadkill, don't know what the current status is. There's no LIDAR in the Tesla models, it's just cameras & a forward-facing radar.

3. The Model 3 has a regular suspension. The X has air suspension. None of the models have anything like MagneRide, which is odd.

 

[Kaido]

Lots of changes:

https://www.model3club.com/yes-tesla-lowered-the-price-of-the-model-3-again/

1. $500 paint price drop

2. Autopilot is now included

3. Leasing is now available on the Model 3 (10k/12k/15k miles); no buy-out option is available (off-lease cars will go into the Tesla ride-hailing network)

4. No more "Standard Range" model (although it's available if you visit a store). Tesla is giving anyone who ordered the base model the Standard Range "Plus" model, just with a 10% limited range.

5. No more "Long-Range RWD" model (although it's available if you visit a store)

That means a fully-loaded Model 3 (Performance AWD, red paint, white interior, FSD) is now $67,500.

 

[Kaido]

"A new bi-partisan bill would reform the federal tax credit for electric vehicles resulting in Tesla and GM buyers getting access to $7,000 on the next 400,000 electric vehicles":

https://electrek.co/2019/04/10/tesla-gm-back-ev-federal-tax-credit-bi-partisan-bill/

Price drop + $7k Federal tax credit would be amazing!

 

[bigi]

"A new bi-partisan bill would reform the federal tax credit for electric vehicles resulting in Tesla and GM buyers getting access to $7,000 on the next 400,000 electric vehicles":

https://electrek.co/2019/04/10/tesla-gm-back-ev-federal-tax-credit-bi-partisan-bill/

Price drop + $7k Federal tax credit would be amazing!

This would favor anybody BUT Tesla.

Tesla will hit 400K vehicles in no time. The rest, who are slackers in terms of EV adoption would benefit from this bill. Especially GM.

If this were fair, date should be used as limiting factor. Not the # of vehicles.

 

[herm0016]

This would favor anybody BUT Tesla.

Tesla will hit 400K vehicles in no time. The rest, who are slackers in terms of EV adoption would benefit from this bill. Especially GM.

If this were fair, date should be used as limiting factor. Not the # of vehicles.

Next 400k, not 400k total sales. Seems fair, both get credits on the same number of electrics.

 

[herm0016]

Lots of changes:

https://www.model3club.com/yes-tesla-lowered-the-price-of-the-model-3-again/

1. $500 paint price drop

2. Autopilot is now included

3. Leasing is now available on the Model 3 (10k/12k/15k miles); no buy-out option is available (off-lease cars will go into the Tesla ride-hailing network)

4. No more "Standard Range" model (although it's available if you visit a store). Tesla is giving anyone who ordered the base model the Standard Range "Plus" model, just with a 10% limited range.

5. No more "Long-Range RWD" model (although it's available if you visit a store)

That means a fully-loaded Model 3 (Performance AWD, red paint, white interior, FSD) is now $67,500.

So how much is the cheapest one you can get now, on the web?

 

[ultimatebob]

Meh... The mythical $35,000 Tesla Model 3 always seemed to be vaporware anyway. I expect them do continue to do their damndest to make sure that you pony up for a more expensive model unless some other manufacturer comes out with similarly priced model that can actually compete on range.

I'm hopeful that the Ford Mach E will be the model, but I probably shouldn't get my hopes up. It might end up being more of a price competitor with the Tesla Model Y.

 

[Kaido]

So how much is the cheapest one you can get now, on the web?

Looks like $39.5k is the cheapest Model 3 available online. If you want the stripped-down, ultra-budget model, it's $35k via phone or store. Plus you get whatever Federal & State rebates are available, which in my state is nearly $6k combined if your 3 is under $50k, which technically makes the online base model $33,750 after rebates (for CT, at least).

 

[Kaido]

Meh... The mythical $35,000 Tesla Model 3 always seemed to be vaporware anyway. I expect them do continue to do their damndest to make sure that you pony up for a more expensive model unless some other manufacturer comes out with similarly priced model that can actually compete on range.

I mean, range isn't much of an issue anymore...the Kona EV has a 258-mile range:

https://www.hyundaiusa.com/kona-electric/index.aspx

The 2020 Kia Soul Electric has a 243-mile range:

https://www.greencarreports.com/new...-ev-first-drive-243-electric-miles-in-the-box

The Jaguar i-Pace has a 234-mile range:

https://www.jaguarusa.com/all-models/i-pace/index.html

The Audi e-Tron has a 204-mile range:

https://www.greencarreports.com/new...g-to-brag-about-but-aiming-for-the-real-world

Unless you spring for an extra ten grand for the dual-motor Model 3 (310 miles), then you're stuck with 240 miles, which both the Kona & the new Soul EV beat.

 

[herm0016]

I mean, range isn't much of an issue anymore...the Kona EV has a 258-mile range:

https://www.hyundaiusa.com/kona-electric/index.aspx

The 2020 Kia Soul Electric has a 243-mile range:

https://www.greencarreports.com/new...-ev-first-drive-243-electric-miles-in-the-box

The Jaguar i-Pace has a 234-mile range:

https://www.jaguarusa.com/all-models/i-pace/index.html

The Audi e-Tron has a 204-mile range:

https://www.greencarreports.com/new...g-to-brag-about-but-aiming-for-the-real-world

Unless you spring for an extra ten grand for the dual-motor Model 3 (310 miles), then you're stuck with 240 miles, which both the Kona & the new Soul EV beat.

Everyone always forgets the bolt, which beat Tesla to market.

 

[manly]

Looks like $39.5k is the cheapest Model 3 available online. If you want the stripped-down, ultra-budget model, it's $35k via phone or store. Plus you get whatever Federal & State rebates are available, which in my state is nearly $6k combined if your 3 is under $50k, which technically makes the online base model $33,750 after rebates (for CT, at least).

The changes are semi beneficial to the consumer, but the bimonthly pricing changes are getting very stupid.

The real news here is that Autopilot is a mandatory $2k "option." This is the watered-down AP since the 3/1 changes. Some would argue AP is too useful not to get at this price point, while others suspect that these changes are more indicators that Tesla is hurting for cash. They're effectively hiding the $35k base model, and most buyers now start at $39.5k unless you want to call in and presumably listen to an upsell pitch.

But this is a stupid way of doing things. Tesla claims that consumers vastly ordered the Standard+ over the base model. So why hide the lesser config, and create more work for the tens of thousands of potential buyers and Tesla phone reps? I thought the whole idea was to go to online-only sales?

The fact that they're really only producing Standard+ models, and soft-locking the features is reasonable. This is actually a slight positive for the buyer of the $35k base model, as you get power seats instead of old school manual seats. You also get "Premium" seat material/trim instead of presumed cloth and plastic. Of course the $35k model never truly existed, so this is a reasonable way that Tesla has decided to streamline their manufacturing. I guess the business case is that in order to eat the slightly higher costs of the Standard+ model when sold soft-locked for $35k, they're hiding the base model online to make it an uncommon sale.

One final comment is that the leasing rates are terrible. Leasing is supposed to be paying for the depreciation of the vehicle over the term of the lease. But some manufacturers (BMW) play with the residual value to push metal out the door. We know that Tesla's residual value is generally extremely high (compared to similar comps), so monthly lease rates should be "competitive." From what I see, they absolutely stink and nobody in their right mind is gonna sign up.

 

[Kaido]

Everyone always forgets the bolt, which beat Tesla to market.

True! I test-drove it a couple years ago:

http://www.portvapes.co.uk/?id=Latest-exam-1Z0-876-Dumps&exid=threads/chevy-bolt-quick-review.2507142/

Currently base pricing puts it at a starting price of $36,620 with a 238-mile range:

https://www.chevrolet.com/electric/bolt-ev-electric-car

It's a nice car, but:

1. Max charging speed of 25 MPH on a 240V home charger (or DC fast charge = 90 miles in 30 minutes); the Model 3 can do 44 MPH at 240V/80A on a 100A circuit breaker
2. Base Tesla costs $2,880 more (unless you call in or visit a store & get the base $35k Tesla, in which case it costs $1,620 less)
3. When I test-drove the 2017 model, the traction control system on the Bolt couldn't keep up with the power (that may have changed over time, dunno), whereas the Model 3 is extremely planted

I would say really the only major benefit to the Bolt is that the Bolt is a bit more roomy than the Model 3. But with the Model 3:

1. You have post-purchase upgrade options for both Autopilot & Full Self-Driving (and could possibly use the car in the future Tesla "Uber" network)
2. You continually receive new OTA updates (such as Atari games!)
3. There's a nation-wide Supercharging network available for hi-speed public charging g& road trips (including the new V3 chargers, which can give you 75 miles in just 5 minutes)

Here's a good video comparison of the Bolt vs. the Tesla 3: (just under 15 minutes long)

For the price vs. features, unless you can get a screaming deal on a Bolt like the guy in the video did (Chevy's deal website currently shows a zero-down, ultra low-mileage lease for $429/mo), to me, there aren't really any compelling reasons to choose a Bolt over a Tesla Model 3.

 

[drnickriviera]

Just bought my mom a bolt. $35k otd with both driver packages, comfort pkg and dcfc. With tax credit and paying local sales tax, $32k. From what ive seen, prices are a bit lower now on them.

We chose it as it sits fairly high and my mom would have never gone for the center screen om tm3. Plus i love 1 pedal driving. Do the teslas offer that?

Electrify america is really making progress on their network. We are going to do our first trip that needs dcfc on monday, so we'll see how it goes

 

[herm0016]

Yea, you can say similar things about the others in the list above, I was pointing out that the bolt was missing from a list that claimed to be comprehensive.

 

[Aikouka]

The real news here is that Autopilot is a mandatory $2k "option." This is the watered-down AP since the 3/1 changes.

I'm actually not a fan of mandating it... mostly because, as I've mentioned here, when you have Traffic-Assisted Cruise Control, which is part of AP, you can no longer use normal cruise control. Personally, I'd rather use it during my morning commutes. I don't need the car to do most of the driving, but just keep me at a constant speed.

That does lead to an interesting "issue" with EVs. As a friend said when he drove my car, "it drives like glass"... meaning the acceleration is smooth as there's no hiccup from shifting or noise from the engine. However, that creates another problem... it's kind of easy to speed without realizing it. Without the noise from the engine or the shifting points, I find it really easy to just keep going faster.

But this is a stupid way of doing things. Tesla claims that consumers vastly ordered the Standard+ over the base model. So why hide the lesser config, and create more work for the tens of thousands of potential buyers and Tesla phone reps? I thought the whole idea was to go to online-only sales?

The reason? To push people away from ordering it so they have far, far less to make. Ultimately, if Tesla can make fewer variants, they can be more efficient. It's the reason why they're also sort of shuttering the LR RWD model. When it comes to RWD, they'd rather just manufacture all RWD models as the SR+, and all AWD models (normal and Performance) can be LR models.

Of course the $35k model never truly existed, so this is a reasonable way that Tesla has decided to streamline their manufacturing.

But there was a post on Reddit for someone getting their SR model delivered. So, it definitely exists. To be honest, I wouldn't be surprised if what Tesla said is true... that most people are ordering the SR+ model. If anyone asked me, I would tell them to get the SR+ over the SR if they had the extra $2000 to spend. The biggest reason isn't the extra comforts, but more or less, the benefit of slightly more range. Albeit, I'd prefer if the SR+ was more like 260-280 miles. Keep in mind that the mile rating is based on a very conservative ~230Wh/m. If I had to guess, most people probably see closer to 260Wh/m or higher unless their route has some efficient portions. Of course, that number gets even worse in the winter, which is even worse due to regenerative braking being limited in the cold.

1. Max charging speed of 25 MPH on a 240V home charger (or DC fast charge = 90 miles in 30 minutes); the Model 3 can do 44 MPH at 240V/80A on a 100A circuit breaker

It maxes out at 48A on a 60A breaker. (I do 40A on a 50A breaker.) The 100A limit is for the Model S and Model X, which I believe required an upgrade for certain model years.[/QUOTE]

 

[Kaido]

I'm actually not a fan of mandating it... mostly because, as I've mentioned here, when you have Traffic-Assisted Cruise Control, which is part of AP, you can no longer use normal cruise control. Personally, I'd rather use it during my morning commutes. I don't need the car to do most of the driving, but just keep me at a constant speed.

That does lead to an interesting "issue" with EVs. As a friend said when he drove my car, "it drives like glass"... meaning the acceleration is smooth as there's no hiccup from shifting or noise from the engine. However, that creates another problem... it's kind of easy to speed without realizing it. Without the noise from the engine or the shifting points, I find it really easy to just keep going faster.

It's true...my buddy's SR+ 3 is as fast as my Mustang (5.3s zero to 60), but there's no vibration or engine noise telling you where you're at. And because the battery is so heavy, the 3 rides super-smooth (for what it is). I've taken corners waaaaay too fast in it simply because you're not getting those physical & audible cues like you would from an ICE ride.

He just sat in NYC traffic for close to 4 hours & said something similar...the AP isn't real good about people coming in from the sides & leaving space & whatnot, so you kind of have to babysit it randomly, instead of consistently. He's not planning on putting FSD on it (ever), so I'm curious what the long-term story will be for improvements over time for people who just have Autopilot (and not Enhanced AP, either!).

 

[manly]

The reason? To push people away from ordering it so they have far, far less to make. Ultimately, if Tesla can make fewer variants, they can be more efficient. It's the reason why they're also sort of shuttering the LR RWD model. When it comes to RWD, they'd rather just manufacture all RWD models as the SR+, and all AWD models (normal and Performance) can be LR models.

Except we know they aren't actually manufacturing any SR models, hence my comment that it never existed.
They're making SR+ models that are soft-locked. Due to economics, they are basically trying to make it very difficult for anyone to buy a SR model (but they probably will change their mind later when they're more efficient). My point is that if you're trying to become more efficient, inserting humans into the ordering pipeline is counter-productive.

But there was a post on Reddit for someone getting their SR model delivered. So, it definitely exists. To be honest, I wouldn't be surprised if what Tesla said is true... that most people are ordering the SR+ model. If anyone asked me, I would tell them to get the SR+ over the SR if they had the extra $2000 to spend. The biggest reason isn't the extra comforts, but more or less, the benefit of slightly more range. Albeit, I'd prefer if the SR+ was more like 260-280 miles. Keep in mind that the mile rating is based on a very conservative ~230Wh/m. If I had to guess, most people probably see closer to 260Wh/m or higher unless their route has some efficient portions. Of course, that number gets even worse in the winter, which is even worse due to regenerative braking being limited in the cold.

Customers who bought an SR model are getting an SR+ build with features soft-locked. At least this is my understanding without visiting Reddit.

The SR+ model definitely is worth the $2500 price premium, hence Tesla's claim that there were relatively few orders for the stripped down build.

 

[Aikouka]

It's true...my buddy's SR+ 3 is as fast as my Mustang (5.3s zero to 60), but there's no vibration or engine noise telling you where you're at. And because the battery is so heavy, the 3 rides super-smooth (for what it is). I've taken corners waaaaay too fast in it simply because you're not getting those physical & audible cues like you would from an ICE ride.

He just sat in NYC traffic for close to 4 hours & said something similar...the AP isn't real good about people coming in from the sides & leaving space & whatnot, so you kind of have to babysit it randomly, instead of consistently. He's not planning on putting FSD on it (ever), so I'm curious what the long-term story will be for improvements over time for people who just have Autopilot (and not Enhanced AP, either!).

I actually wonder what EAP would've done earlier today. I was driving manually, as I mostly do in the morning, and I had been around this motorcycle for almost the entire trip. Earlier, I had noticed that this biker was one of those "I do what I want" types, so I heeded a bit of caution when lined up with the person. On a four lane road, I was in the left-most lane, and I think the biker was in the right-most lane. I had my signal on and was about to move over to the right when I saw the biker and said, "I bet he's going to cut across all these lanes and get right beside me." Lo and behold, about a second later, he's right beside me. If I didn't make that decision he could've ran into me or I could've slammed into him (most people around here just tend to move over without any regard to others), but I wonder what EAP would've done?

As for EAP vs AP, keep in mind that the only loss that you'd probably care about is Navigate on AutoPilot. The other features that were shuffled to FSD were Summons and AutoPark, which don't affect basic driving. I recall that they recently added an option to present a red light warning when using... I think AutoSteer (I don't think NoA is required). This is meant to be a precursor to actually reacting to red lights, which I believe was always intended to be part of the FSD package.

They're making SR+ models that are soft-locked. Due to economics, they are basically trying to make it very difficult for anyone to buy a SR model (but they probably will change their mind later when they're more efficient). My point is that if you're trying to become more efficient, inserting humans into the ordering pipeline is counter-productive.

But wouldn't a soft-locked SR+... really just be some weird hybrid of an SR and SR+? The reasoning being that the SR+ does have some software differences, but it also has the better seats, and I think slightly better audio? So, you'd actually be getting more than you paid for.

Anyway, the last that I heard was that SR deliveries were pushed out until June, but I haven't really kept up with that. I mostly just pay attention to news about software upgrades.

 

[tweakmonkey]

Finally got to drive a Model 3.

I was going to Los Angeles for the day so I rented a Model 3 long range (RWD, enhanced auto pilot but not self driving). Blue ext / Black interior

I knew I'd be in traffic for most of the day, so my choices were Uber or renting cars, but I thought renting would be cheaper actually. I ended up driving in EXTREMELY heavy traffic for 4 hours (only covering about 60 miles between LAX and Studio City, some surrounding areas, then out to the coast). So averaging 15 MPH and often times stop and go for 30-minutes at a time.

But the Auto Pilot made it SO easy, and so stress free. I couldn't believe it. You simply get onto the road and click it on (double click if you want to enable the auto steering). It inched along happily that whole time and I think it was less stressful than renting an Uber even. I was driving in traffic for hours and didn't feel fatigued or annoyed at all. I love how you don't even need to pick a speed. It knows all the speed limits and will automatically drive the limit (if it can), or higher if you scroll the wheel up. One bad thing I observed was it sits in people's blinds spots sometimes.

I also tried "navigate on auto pilot", where it changed lanes a few times for me and took freeway ramps and merged. It even signaled automatically. Very cool, and no issues there (though I didn't try it much). When trying to figure out how to use it, it scared me a couple times. I wouldn't suggest playing with this much unless you're very careful.

If you drive in any regular/heavy traffic and especially congested freeways , then you need a car that does all this auto stuff these days. I don't yet personally but seeing from this perspective you're just thinking, man those poor suckers next to me.

Even this 2WD car was fast, it handles well, the interior is simple but nicely done, and really a comfortable place to be. I was already wanting to buy one but this moved it to a whole new level of want.

Also, I hate the door handles. I guess you'd get used to them but I don't see the advantage of lower drag justifying it in a car with this kind of juice. The chrome was fingerprinted and dirty, and I kept using 2 hands to open the handle... maybe I'm doing it wrong.

PS - never rent Turo at LAX airport. What a disaster that "valet" lot is... it took 2 hours just to get the car. Otherwise Turo worked well this time.
PSS - halfway through that drive, I was also thinking it's too bad this car can't make me a sandwich right now!

 

[Kaido]

PSS - halfway through that drive, I was also thinking it's too bad this car can't make me a sandwich right now!

Down the road, once they reach driver-less full self-driving, you can just send your car out to pick up food for you...have them load it in the trunk & drive it back to you, haha!

 

[Kaido]

The chip is out! Officially called the "Full Self-Driving (FSD) computer":

https://electrek.co/2019/04/22/tesla-full-self-driving-computer-details/

"Today, the company clarified that it was in all new Model S and Model X since March (start around March 20th) and in all new Model 3 vehicles earlier this month (starting around April 12th)."

"Musk said that Tesla will start offering retrofits to current Tesla owners who bought the ‘Full Self-Driving package’ in the next few months."

Hands-free FSD demonstration video: