Tesla cars are known for their flagship autopilot and full self-driving features, which make Tesla stand out amongst the rest. Many people tend to confuse autopilot with full self-driving features and use the two terms interchangeably. The autopilot feature comes as a standard on all Tesla’s, while the full self-driving feature is most often an optional integration that requires the owner to pay extra.

The cost can reach up to ten thousand dollars, which is enough to make many wonder whether the self-driving features are really worth it. Figuring out the details of Tesla’s self-driving program can be tricky. That’s why this article will do a breakdown of what contributes to the high price of the Tesla self-driving feature.

Is Tesla’s self-driving worth it?

As of today, if you purchase a brand new Tesla with complete self-driving features, your EV will have a particular set of autonomous assist qualities. These include lane departure assist, traffic-aware cruise control, emergency braking, autopilot navigation, automatic steering that includes auto lane changing, automatic parking options, and summon feature functions that allow the car to drive towards you at a parking lot.

‍

Charging your EV efficiently?
Save automatically with Optiwatt

‍

Only some of the features mentioned above are standard safety features that you can find on all Tesla cars.  The company offers these features in order to enhance the drivability and comfort of their cars.  All of the above features are expected to receive new upgrades and additions. One of the much anticipated autonomous features is the urban auto-steerability.

No matter where you stand on the issue, you should register your Tesla with Optiwatt for free to have complete control and overview over your car and get access to tons of useful information!

‍

Autopilot vs. full self-driving

To understand exactly the differences between the autopilot and full safety capabilities of the car, you have to analyze each of the following features individually. First, we’ll look at the safety features that are part of the autopilot features.

‍

‍

Automatic Lane Departure Assist

All Teslas can provide drivers with automatic lane departure assist. This feature allows drivers to stay within a lane on any given freeway that has clear and visible lane markers. It does this by enabling automatic steering intervention, which allows the car to correct the car’s direction every time your car starts drifting toward an adjacent line marker.

Emergency Braking

Every Tesla car will apply automatic emergency braking when you edge your car too close to another object. This helps slow down the vehicle and lessens the impact of a collision in the occurrence of an accident. This feature is a standard feature that’s active every time you’re driving.

Traffic-aware Cruise Control (TAC)

This is one of the most distinctive autopilot features of Tesla. It allows drivers to set the car at a particular speed and have it drive at that speed without you having to press down on the pedal. Furthermore, this feature also automates speed variation and velocity adjustments in accordance with nearby traffic.

Self-driving Option

The self-driving feature is more of an enhancement than a built-in feature. Once you upgrade your Tesla to the self-driving driving option, you can utilize the complete self-driving features on the highway, which include overtaking cars, along with automatic lane changes.

To enable complete self-driving, you have to set a destination in Tesla’s navigation option. You then have to pull down twice on the drive stop to activate auto steer and attack options. After which, you have to select the autopilot to navigate option on your map.

Moving forward, you can expect your Tesla to automatically drive to your location by staying in the right lane, overtaking, making appropriate interchanges, and also by making the right exits. It’s important to note that you still have to keep your hands on the steering wheel when the car is making lane changes. Resting your hands on the wheel is a precautionary measure since this self-driving option is a new technology and has yet to be tested for reliability.

‍

‍

Another self-driving feature includes the auto-park function. In this feature, the Tesla car uses its ultrasonic sensors, along with its GPS features, to carefully detect a parking space and reverse into it without any human intervention.

The auto parking feature has the capabilities to perform a series of turns and pivots autonomously. It’s also sophisticated enough to tackle both lane parking and parallel parking with significant ease. Despite all that, it’s important to note that the car may sometimes not perform a particular parking task because it’s yet to become foolproof. Nevertheless, the feature works for the most part.

Lastly, one of the most talked-about self-driving features includes the summon feature. This allows you to move the car back and forth with the help of the mobile application, using the touch screen. Moreover, the smart summon feature allows the car to autonomously reverse out of its parking spot and use its sensors and GPS to autonomously drive to you using the mobile application.  It is, however, important to note that you have to be within 65 meters of the vehicle to activate this feature.

‍

Autopilot vs. full self-driving: The verdict

Now that you’re aware of the autopilot and self-driving features, you can make a better decision when it comes to the choice of autopilot vs. full self-driving, based on what best suits you. Consider whether the utilities of each feature are worth the price that you pay for them and how frequently you anticipate you will be using them. 

No matter how you drive, you need to know when it’s cheapest to charge your car. Check out our free app that tells you when to charge to save the most money on your next trip.

‍