Tesla Yanks: "Ability to drive independently" despite the owner's confusion

Tesla quietly dropped (if something about Tesla is long silent) the opportunity to buy the "total self-driving ability" from online design studios (construction pages to your car ) of its website. The option, worth $ 3,000 to $ 5,000, was introduced with AutoPilot 2.0 hardware in 2016. Tesla said it would validate the software, obtain regulatory approval, and allow the software through updates. subsequent day. This has never happened.

Also on Thursday, Elon Musk also announced the least expensive of its Tesla cars, a $ 45,000 rear-wheel drive model with a range of 260 km, two miles longer than the Hyundai Kona EV, which debuted the week last. And yes, $ 45,000, it's still $ 10,000 more than what had been announced, promised, but not delivered. Tesla Model 3's entry-level with 220 miles.

Promised, yes. Delivered, not quite.

Tesla, since 2016, describes a fully autonomous Tesla that could extend from one end to another autonomously, which means standalone on limited access highways. But this has never been the case for Tesla, any more than for Cadillac.

The autonomous driving option was a Tesla debt recognition. Some of the capacity was built into the car and the rest would come when Tesla prepared it. On Tuesday, Tesla said that a chip designed by Tesla to allow complete self-driving would be ready in about six months and would be provided and installed free of charge as part of the option already paid by buyers .

It's not clear, and Tesla is not yet making predictions, if the chip she built herself, rather than her partner with Nvidia or another chip maker, is the last thing she needs. There would still be tests and certification.

What is unusual is that if the autonomous driving at level 3 or 4 is so close for Tesla, that's the reason why it removed it from the ordering process. Some buyers liked the idea – the promise, the recognition of debt – that for three thousand dollars, their Tesla would be autonomous in the future. CEO Musk said Thursday that this option was causing confusion, which could be true. The confusion was all the greater as Tesla sells "the autonomous driving system" (this) and the autopilot, which sounds like an autonomous driving, which is true, but only at a lower level.

All you can order now at Tesla is the $ 5,000 enhanced autopilot package. Despite its name, Autopilot is rather level 2 of the autonomy offered by several other car manufacturers, including BMW, Cadillac, Ford, Nissan and Volvo. You must always keep your hands lightly on the steering wheel.

The only one to date is the Cadillac CT-6 with Super Cruise. It is capable of prolonged self-driving a) on highways, but b) even if your hands are outside the steering wheel, one of the 11 car cameras monitors the driver's eyes and you disgusts if your attention falls back more than 5 10 seconds.

Until now, no car is able to navigate alone on city streets or country roads, with the exception of some test vehicles with qualified drivers on board.

The cheapest model Tesla 3

Tesla's announcements this week – via Twitter, as usual – included a cheaper 3 model that replaces the 3 rear-wheel drive model. The 3 rear-wheel drive model was rated at 310 km and its price in the mid-fifties. Now, using essentially the same car and the same battery case, but with less expensive lithium-ion cells, Tesla offers a mid-range model at $ 45,000. It will have fewer options to further simplify orders. The price includes a high end interior and an audio system. The only option is the Tesla autopilot for $ 5,000.

In addition, the Tesla ordering website appears to indicate that the October 15th deadline for ordering and taking delivery of a Tesla still receiving the $ 7,000 federal tax credit is not absolute. The Tesla site says the mid-range model 3 will be ready for delivery in six to ten weeks, before the Tesla credit drops to $ 3,750 in January 2019.

Read now: Tesla Model 3 has the highest profit margin of all electric vehicles, Tesla employees: paint shops have been burned several times and Elon Musk: the braking of model 3 can be corrected in the firmware. What?