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Tesla kills Autopilot, locks lane-keeping behind $99/month fee

arstechnica.com

141–150 of 388 posts

Re: Tesla kills Autopilot, locks lane-keeping behind $99/month fee

#141

[flagged]

Oh no, they are nowhere near confident enough for remote monitoring. They have a chase car following directly behind [1][2] which presumably has the power to initiate a remote emergency stop.

Of course this is the same system that likes to ignore train crossing red warning lights [3] so it can run into crossing trains. Very advanced.

[1] https://xcancel.com/joetegtmeyer/status/2014410572226322794

[2] https://electrek.co/2026/01/22/tesla-didnt-remove-the-robota...

[3] https://xcancel.com/RealDanODowd/status/1968788791805583629

Re: Tesla kills Autopilot, locks lane-keeping behind $99/month fee

#142

Wait a minute. My recent-ish car has LKAS. It recognizes white lines (or possibly curbs too) and if both boundaries of the lane are recongized, will steer for you - for 10 seconds maybe, before it nags you provide some steering input. But in those 10 seconds it's perfectly capable of smoothly steering around bends in the road on its own. And it is a useful safety feature even if only nudging the steering wheel while…

I have a Subaru with driver's assistance. Basically you input speed and distance from the vehicle ahead, and the car turns, accelerates, and brakes. It disengages quite often, in particular when the lanes are not clearly marked.

I used it a couple of times, but then I stopped; for me, as a driver/passenger, it has very little value. Yes, maybe I can lower my attention from 100% to 95%, but it does not make much difference: I need to keep my hands on the wheel, it disengages at random (for me) times.

True autopilot is very different.

Re: Tesla kills Autopilot, locks lane-keeping behind $99/month fee

#143
post #114

FSD makes sense as a subscription as it's something that gets updated all of the time. Subscriptions to things built into the car like heated seats seems like a way to scam money out of people.

I agree; but Autopilot unlike FSD hasn't been updated in several years.

It doesn't contain maps or context of the roads, it is just Auto-Steer + Lane-Change + Full-Range Cruise Control under one brand-umbrella. Mostly useful on the Motorways/Freeways, and commonly found in competitor's vehicles.

Re: Tesla kills Autopilot, locks lane-keeping behind $99/month fee

#145

It's a tradeoff, too early to say if it's a dumb move. Side A: Tesla can grow FSD subscription revenue by making FSD + Autopilot completely based on subscription. Lot more people use Autopilot than FSD. In the happy path such users will pay the subscription and that revenue will increase. Side B: Autopilot (aka lane keeping) is fast becoming default option across manufacturers. Tesla will take a dip in sales if such…

I'd prefer to evaluate it from the viewpoint of someone outside the Tesla c-suite.

Re: Tesla kills Autopilot, locks lane-keeping behind $99/month fee

#147

A new Tesla, without subscription, now has worse Steering Assist than a $22K Toyota Corolla. Back when Autopilot launched, in consumer cars, it was pretty unique. But the market has moved on significantly, and basic Steering Assist/Full-Speed-Range Automatic Cruise Control, are pretty universal features today.

[deleted]

Re: Tesla kills Autopilot, locks lane-keeping behind $99/month fee

#148

The latest version of FSD is amazing. We have it on our Plaids (2024 and 2026 models) and I probably only actually "drive" 5% of the time. There's a camera to see if you're paying attention to the road, so no longer any need to keep your hands on the wheel. It'll start from a parking space and go all the way into my house and back into the garage. Of course, I don't trust it as much as I trust Waymo's system, and I'm…

So you're saying people should just pay for the subscription? Seems like tangential FSD(S)-glazing here.

Re: Tesla kills Autopilot, locks lane-keeping behind $99/month fee

#149

Wait a minute. My recent-ish car has LKAS. It recognizes white lines (or possibly curbs too) and if both boundaries of the lane are recongized, will steer for you - for 10 seconds maybe, before it nags you provide some steering input. But in those 10 seconds it's perfectly capable of smoothly steering around bends in the road on its own. And it is a useful safety feature even if only nudging the steering wheel while…

Was watching OPLive last week. Every week they have a segment called "Triple Play" where they have law enforcement send them videos of crazy chases and other interesting experiences. This last week they had a guy who had completely passed out in his car and was fast asleep at the wheel. A state trooper pulled up alongside it and could see the guy slumped over his wheel. Apparently the car was essentially weaving back…

I've never actually tested what happens if you ignore the "steering input required" nags from LKAS. Does it truly keep driving at cruise control speed? I assumed it would eventually slow to a stop.

As for the safety feature. I inherited (literally) a second car that's 10 years older than the primary one. You get used to LKAS. I was driving a long distance in the older one while somewhat overtired and had several rumble strip excursions that would not have happened in the LKAS-equipped car. And for the asleep guy in the parent post, it may have made the difference between still being alive and dead in head-on collision or rollover.

Re: Tesla kills Autopilot, locks lane-keeping behind $99/month fee

#150
post #17

They're offering 50% off the subscription to people who used to have Enhanced Autopilot [1]. As I predicted when the CEO's compensation plan had a part tied to FSD subscriptions, they are going to push more people onto it by bundling more features and cutting the price. [1] https://x.com/SawyerMerritt/status/2014751111803032049

Reminds me of when an ISP offered me a discount if I would agree to sign up with their partnered TV service. I agreed on the condition that I didn't have to rent a box. But you can't use the service without a box ... ? Who cares, I got a discount.
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