Every Tesla you can buy comes with Basic Autopilot as standard. This means that you can enjoy the simplest features of the standalone company without having to pay any other money. But basic also means it’s limited, and Tesla offers two additional levels of Autopilot – as long as you’re willing to pay for it.
Teslas is also able to come with improved autopilot and fully autonomous driving. By parting you with several thousand dollars, you can ensure that your car can do more things without (significant) driver involvement. But both levels do different things, and most importantly, they cost different amounts. So if you can afford better autopilot on your Tesla, should you buy the improved autopilot or full self-driving?
Enhanced Autopilot vs Full Autopilot: Price
The essential difference between the two autopilot levels is the price. An improved autopilot will cost you $6000, while fully autonomous driving will cost you $15,000 — two and a half times as much.
Full self-driving is also available on a subscription form. It costs $199 per month for drivers who use the basic autopilot to upgrade to fully autonomous driving, or $99 for drivers who already have an enhanced autopilot. The subscription is a monthly renewable contract, and drivers can cancel at any time without penalty.
It is currently not possible to upgrade to Enhanced Autopilot with a subscription.
Enhanced Autopilot vs Full Autopilot: Key Autopilot Features
Essential by name, fundamental by nature, relatively. The basic autopilot includes four main features: blind spot monitoring, emergency braking, adaptive cruise control, and lane keep assist. These features can critically operate at the same time, meaning that Tesla can control steering and acceleration when the autopilot is on.
In short, this means that autopilot can keep your Tesla in the middle of a clear lane and can change its speed based on traffic ahead.
Enhanced Autopilot vs Full Autopilot: Enhanced Autopilot Features
The Enhanced Autopilot has all the same features as the Basic Autopilot, plus a bunch more. The most useful feature is Auto Lane Change, which allows the car to switch lanes depending on the surrounding traffic. This way, it can bypass slow cars, and prepare for mergers and exits that may occur in the future.
This last part is related to the improved ‘Navigation on Autopilot’ feature on Autopilot. Using the Tesla navigation system built into the car, this feature is capable of navigating highways “from cliffs to remote cliffs.” In other words, you just need to sit back and prepare in case the car does something stupid, which can happen from time to time.
The improved autopilot also comes with autonomous parking features as well. Autopark is able to enter parallel and perpendicular parking spaces on its own. This feature will also check for empty parking spaces around you, just in case you’re really struggling to find one.
Finally, Smart Summon does just the opposite. This feature prompts the vehicle to withdraw from the parking space, and navigate the parking space towards you. Which is useful if you are parked in a tight spot, or forgot where you left your car.
Enhanced Autopilot vs Full Autopilot: Full Autopilot Features
Despite its name, Tesla’s fully self-driving autopilot doesn’t mean your car is capable of driving on its own. It’s something that has gotten Tesla into legal trouble more than once, particularly in the Germany (Opens in a new tab) And the California (Opens in a new tab). CEO Elon Musk has been promising different deadlines for true self-driving for a few years now, but so far he hasn’t been able to put his money where it is.
At the time of writing, fully autonomous driving offers all the same functionality as the base and Enhanced Autopilot levels. The only exclusive feature included in the public version of the FSD is traffic light and stop sign control. Autosteer is listed on city streets as ‘Coming Soon’, but is currently only available as part of a fully autonomous driving beta.
Tesla drivers can express interest in joining the FSD beta from their car’s infotainment screen, but the company is selective about who is allowed to participate. Basics include having a fully self-driving car, either permanent or subscription, and a Tesla Safety Score (visible in the app) of 95 or higher. But until then it is not guaranteed.
Tesla doesn’t constantly add beta testers, so you’ll need to be able to wait several weeks or months for your next pickup — assuming Tesla chooses you to participate. You’ll need to maintain your safety score at all times, and Tesla reserves the right to kick you out of the beta if your driving ability deteriorates.
Enhanced Autopilot vs Full Autopilot: What Should You Buy?
Quite simply, fully autonomous driving is incredibly expensive. $9,000 more than the improved autopilot, as of the most recent price hike. And for that price you get a traffic light and stop sign control, along with a chance to join Tesla’s beta FSD beta; Not a guarantee, an opportunity.
In the past, things were different. Until earlier this year, Tesla drivers could only choose between basic autopilot and fully autonomous driving. This made the cost of the upgrade somewhat justified, since you already have something to show for it.
These days, with improved autopilot officially back as an option, you only have the promise of what could be, rather than what’s already available today.
Things can change, especially if Autosteer in City Streets is added to the public version of Full Self Driving. But for now we only have a promise from Elon Musk that it will happen in the near future. I know I don’t want to bet $9,000 on a mask that delivers on its promises His history has done the exact opposite (Opens in a new tab).
naturally. Fully self-driving will only go up in price. Musk himself admitted it, and the cost has actually gone up several times since its launch. The price was originally $8,000, and later rose to $10,000 in 2021, $12,000 in January 2022, and finally $15,000 in September.
By paying for FSD now, you are basically locking in the price now and betting it will be worth it in the future. But for now, if you ask me, I’ll stick with the improved autopilot and save $9,000 for something else.
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