Tesla And The Autopilot

Autonomous vehicles are the future. Or are they? Tesla’s Autopilot system is as close as one can currently get to experiencing true autonomous capability. It’s impressive and frightening in equal measure, as we found out.

- Jonathan Musk

This is a Tesla Model S 90D. It’s an all-wheel drive electric luxury saloon car with a bit of an attitude. 0-62mph is destroyed in a mere 4.2 seconds and because its four wheel drive stiff suspension and a low centre-of-gravity, handling is pretty decent too. The 90kWh of lithium-ion batteries mean this Model S is capable of travelling the longest range of any Tesla currently on sale – an uncompromising 275 real-world miles (346 NEDC).

Tesla has attracted a lot of attention recently because of the Model 3, a car that is hyped to play a major role in the automotive market with its “affordable” list price of $30,000. However, until then the Model S is the best Tesla has to offer. The Model X is an interesting vehicle, but it’s more expensive, slower and offers less range than the S.

The massive 17-inch touchscreen still impresses and is unmatched in size by any of Tesla’s far more established competitors. Included in the price is an always-on 3G connection that loads live traffic status, map updates and much more. Spotify is now built-in too, meaning you can play pretty well any music you can think of, no matter how obscure – for free!

But with so much to play with on the central display, there’s a risk of distraction from the road. A hot topic of debate, the autonomous car is Tesla’s answer to help prevent accidents – not that they suggest you can play with the stereo while the car drives itself, or at least not yet.

Autopilot, as Tesla call it, is a system comprising hundreds of sensors, relays, computers, radars and digital cameras that enable the car to “see” where it is on the road and, more importantly, what’s around it.