Tesla’s ‘Navigate on Autopilot’ Feature Released; Model 3 Price Lowered

First announced in tweet late Friday by CEO Elon Musk and then in a company blog post, Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA) is rolling out a feature called “Navigate on Autopilot” that was not included in the release of version 9 of the automaker’s software that was distributed earlier this month.

Tesla’s “Navigate on Autopilot” feature provides active guidance that “guides a car from a highway’s on-ramp to off-ramp, including suggesting lane changes, navigating highway interchanges and taking exits,” under active supervision by the driver.

Despite the name, Autopilot is not fully self-driving. As Tesla’s blog post states, “[U]ntil truly driverless cars are validated and approved by regulators, drivers are responsible for and must remain in control of their car at all times.” Lane changes, for example, must be confirmed by the driver using the car’s turn stalk.

The feature will be available to Tesla customers who have purchased enhanced Autopilot ($5,000) or full self-driving (FSD) capability ($3,000).

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Tesla offered this description of–and outlook for–Autopilot software:

Navigate on Autopilot is built exclusively for our Enhanced Autopilot platform, which includes a powerful onboard computer, ultrasonic sensors, radar, and external cameras that feed our Tesla-developed neural net. Advanced machine learning algorithms allow our cars to collect and process data in milliseconds. The future introduction of our Tesla-developed AI chip with our Full Self-Driving platform will allow the speed at which our system processes data to increase by an order of magnitude and take a meaningful leap toward our full self-driving future.

We noted earlier this month the massive computing power needed to support version 9 and now Tesla is saying that its compute power needs to rise by a factor of 10. The mind boggles.

Tesla also announced on Friday that the Model 3 Performance Upgrade Package, which formerly cost $5,000, will now be included free in the $64,000 base price of the Model 3 Performance version. A Tesla spokesperson said the company will adjust the price of Model 3s that have not been delivered yet. Owners who have already taken delivery will not get a refund unless they agree to give up free lifetime Supercharging.

Electrek’s Fred Lambert, who owns a Model 3 Performance version, was not amused by Tesla’s price change:

In hindsight, it looks like Tesla solely created that $5,000 package to upcharge early buyers knowing that there will be plenty of demand for the vehicle at the launch due to the reservation holders waiting for the performance version.

This theoretically enabled them to deliver higher gross margins in Q3 and a profit. It feels like that now Q3 is over, Tesla is getting rid of the package and going back to the planned price structure to get the real demand for the car.

I have been waiting over 2 years for the car and I love it, but now I feel cheated by Tesla because I could have saved $5,000 by waiting two more months to get it and I wouldn’t have had to loan Tesla $1,000 interest-free for 2 years.

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