When choosing which version of Autopilot you want on your Tesla, you have three options. Basic Autopilot, Enhanced Autopilot and FSD or Full Self-Driving.
If you are in the process of ordering your new Tesla, or buying one second hand then this will help you decide between the different Autopilot packages.
Basic Autopilot
Basic Autopilot comes free with every Tesla vehicle. This includes the following functionality:
- Autosteer – steering within clearly marked lanes
- Traffic-Aware Cruise Control – used with Autosteer, it keeps the vehicles speed in traffic
These features are great on a highway or motorway, but they do not provide any of the great functionality on the more expensive options.
Enhanced Autopilot
Relaunched again in 2022, Tesla’s Enhanced Autopilot is the next level of Autopilot and includes a range of extra functions including:
- Navigate on Autopilot / Auto Lane Change– this is Tesla’s highway autopilot that can do everything from getting you on/off the highway, keep lanes, speed, overtake and more
- Autopark – this is the feature you want when you need to parallel park or navigate into a tight spot
- Summon & Smart Summon – get your car to come to you in a carpark or similar situations
These features form part of this Enhanced Autopilot feature and cost around $6000 at the time of writing.
Full Self Driving
This is Tesla’s premium autopilot of self-driving software that is still under development and in Beta version. It is available to a significant number of drivers with a great Safety Score in the USA and Canada and may roll out to Europe in the coming years.
The idea of Full Self Driving is to create software that is 100% autonomous or close enough. Currently, the software is impressive but still makes a lot of mistakes and requires human intervention. It may still take a few years until it is ready, but when it is, it will be mind-blowing.
While the software is improving, Tesla raises the prices of FSD periodically. What used to be less than $10,000 is now $15,000 and will likely rise again in the near future.