Tesla Cyber Truck (Most Hideous Truck/Tank Ever)

[Irace86.2.0]

Hertz has a lot of electric cars now including the hybrid Polestar 1 (a pretty rare car) and many Teslas. We rented a Tesla Model 3 LR for the week. The miles were more than enough for us, so we decided to give it a go. At the end of the trip, we stopped at a mall to charge and eat. The car went from 13-87% in the time it took us to go in, order, eat and immediately leave, which was like 25-30 minutes or so. It was flawless too; we just pulled up, grabbed the charger, the latch opened, plugged it in, and it immediately started charging, automatically charging my card on file at Hertz without me having to download an app or enter any credit card information. As long as the car was >75%, Hertz wouldn't change me anything. The car automatically conditioned the battery for charging as we approached, while provided dinning options around the supercharger and adding the supercharger stop in route to the next destination flawlessly.

While there are some differences to using the car, the car was easy to figure out. The UI was fast like an iPhone, and it was really intuitive and easy to work the menus and navigation despite not having buttons. I really liked the AC system. It doesn't seem like adjusting vents would be different, but it just worked so flawlessly to direct air exactly how I wanted it. My wife enjoyed engaging with the screen too, as it was perfectly between us.

There were some build quality issues with an air gap in the rear passenger window and the driver's seat plastic being pulled out, but it was difficult to know if this was a problem from poor use or from the factory.

The driving experience felt very premium. The powertrain is just so response, predictable, smooth and quiet. The transition power from 20-60 is pretty insane and instant like launching on a rollercoaster. No gears and flat, instant torque means the car just takes off like a rocket. The Performance model or P100D/Raven/Plaid models must just be insane. It wasn't the quickest car I've been in, but it was just so instant and constant in how it accelerates that it felt far faster. It is really something to experience. The pedal just is so predictable that the car is easy to drive and easy to place anywhere on the road to pass or maneuver. It is hard to get into anything after the Tesla which has a delayed power band and slush-box transmission and not be immediately disappointed in how it is like stepping back into a phone from five years earlier. Really, it feels like going from the current Mac OS to Windows 98 on a PC from 1998. It feels like going to 3G after being on 5G.

Autopilot was a breeze to set and operate. The car asks for regular inputs, and it will slow down, stop and accelerate on its own. It stays perfectly in the lane, and it did well throughout the operations. Only once did it apply brakes or let off the gas abruptly, erroring on caution for a car that could have cut us off based on a turnout for the carpool lane and us being in their blind spot. There was a subtle shift of their car towards us at an ideal lane change moment for them, so overall, I was impressed and appreciated how the car performed.

It was nice signaling and having the signal automatically turn off when I got in the other lane. It was nice having the car beep when the light turned green to let me know to go because the Vision system can see the light change. The regen was aggressive that I rarely needed to apply the brakes unless the car needed to come to a complete stop or unless I needed to stop faster. But in general, the regen was set to feel like a medium press of the brakes. This was nice because the second I took my foot off the brakes, the car was already slowing before I could hit the brake pedal. That half a second to a second where the car is slowing instead of still traveling towards another car is a nice aspect of regen that I hadn't considered.

There was more, but overall, the experience was seamless and easy. We never had range anxiety or anything. The charging was seamless. The drop off for Hertz was a drive up and hand over the keys, so that was easy too. I say if someone wants to see what the fuss is about, rent a Tesla for a day for under a hundred bucks. I'm going to rent a few more EVs and go back for that Polestar 1 too.

[soundman98]

how much previous rental user information was still stashed in the infotainment system?

[Irace86.2.0]

Originally Posted by soundman98

how much previous rental user information was still stashed in the infotainment system?

A dozen or more devices. I deleted/forgot my Bluetooth device. I don’t think my contacts were merged over or anything, but I forgot to look. Software can change, but I think you have to do more steps to sync contacts than just paring the phone (see first link). It is possible to load your Tesla user profile from the cloud to a rental or across multiple family cars, so when you get in you can load/log in to your profile and all your settings/contacts will just be there. It is linked to your phone or your key cards that you link, so the profile might stay on the car, but couldn’t be accessible without a passcode or phone or something.

https://teslamotorsclub.com/tmc/thre...tivity.215063/

https://electrek.co/2021/11/03/tesla...-cars-rentals/

[Irace86.2.0]

If the Polestar 1 had room for our bags then I was going to rent that, and I wish I did because of the power and looks, and because I believe they are only available in select areas like LAX Hertz, but I could be wrong; I could have rented a Tesla up here in the North Bay anytime. We considered renting a Polestar 2 because more power, but ultimately we wanted to try the Tesla first and have ease of supercharging.

[Dadhawk]

Originally Posted by Irace86.2.0

Autopilot was a breeze to set and operate. The car asks for regular inputs, and it will slow down, stop and accelerate on its own. It stays perfectly in the lane, and it did well throughout the operations......

So, does that mean you have to keep touching the wheel to keep autopilot engaged? If so, that's a non-starter for me. As I've said before if I have to do that, I'm just going to drive the car.

[Irace86.2.0]

Originally Posted by Dadhawk

So, does that mean you have to keep touching the wheel to keep autopilot engaged? If so, that's a non-starter for me. As I've said before if I have to do that, I'm just going to drive the car.

No, like every five minutes or something it alerts the driver to provide some input against the wheel sensors, so it knows you are still engaged, which means using a few fingers to resist the wheel. It needs to be enough to not just be a hand resting on the wheel, but obviously you wouldn’t want to twist too hard to take it off course. I would think of it like a nudge to wake someone up.

[Dadhawk]

Originally Posted by Irace86.2.0

No, like every five minutes or something it alerts the driver to provide some input against the wheel sensors, so it knows you are still engaged, which means using a few fingers to resist the wheel. It needs to be enough to not just be a hand resting on the wheel, but obviously you wouldn’t want to twist too hard to take it off course. I would think of it like a nudge to wake someone up.

Realizing the difference between Autopilot (works pretty much everywhere) and SuperCruise (only on mapped roads, but on places I would use it (divided highways, Interstates) and after having driven SuperCruise, I definitely prefer the SuperCruise method.

Based on your description, I have to say AutoPilot is better than others I've experienced though.

[Lantanafrs2]

You're supposed to clap your hands along with we will rock you. I saw it on tv

[Irace86.2.0]

Originally Posted by Dadhawk

Realizing the difference between Autopilot (works pretty much everywhere) and SuperCruise (only on mapped roads, but on places I would use it (divided highways, Interstates) and after having driven SuperCruise, I definitely prefer the SuperCruise method.

Based on your description, I have to say AutoPilot is better than others I've experienced though.

I did use Autopilot on a six mile section of residential thoroughfare (30-35 area with homes facing the street), which slowed multiple times to a stop, and it did fine, but it eventually will get to a point where it says, "auto steering is not available for the rest of the trip." I don't know if this is because there are necessary lane changes coming up or what. It would happen on the highway too, which first made me think the area might not be mapped or could be marked as too dangerous for autopilot, but then it became clear that it was more about upcoming lane changes. Smart cruise control can still be used, and lane keep assist is still activated, so it is just the automatic steering.

Enhanced Autopilot (EAP) adds Navigation on Autopilot, Smart Summon, Auto Park and Auto Lane Change. To me, this isn't worth the price, as I really would just use Autopilot. FSD isn't ready for prime time, so even if I had a Tesla and could afford FSD, I don't think it would be for me. Until it can be Level 4 or 5, I don't think I am a buyer kind of like you. There is no point in being so engaged, as one does with mixed-type driving, and in most scenarios, I prefer to drive, but on the highway, when I have to drive straight and constant and would use cruise control, well, Autopilot would be the ideal cruise control. I would like the Auto Lane Change, but that isn't a deal breaker or would justify the cost of EAP.

Sounds like Supercruise will be good enough. Autopilot will allow you to select limits such as the top speed relative to the speed limit, and you can select a fixed amount or a percentage; e.g. if you set it at the speed limit then it will only go up to the speed limit, and if you set it to 6mph over then it will go 46 in a 40 and 71 in a 65, and if you set it for 10% over then it will go 44 in a 40 and 71.5 in a 65. It will also be Traffic-Aware, where it will speed up when someone changes out of your lane to take out the slack to stay tight and flow with traffic, and you can select how many car lengths you want between you and the next car. I believe it will add more distance with increasing speed, so the numbers are relative closeness. When someone changed lanes to the slower lane, my car accelerated to 82 to take out the slack with the car ahead of me before it followed at distance. This was nice, so I wasn't needing to readjust my speed or piss off someone behind me by maintaining a huge gap. Does Supercruise do similar things?

[Dadhawk]

Originally Posted by Irace86.2.0

Does Supercruise do similar things?

Yes, for the most part. It does all the adaptive cruise control things you mention, then adds steering and either directed or automatic lanes changes to the mix.

While I was using it, it initiated and completed several passing maneuvers flawlessly. You can also initiate a lane change with the turn signal. You can also set it so SuperCruise only initiates lane changes on your request.

There were several occasions where it identified slow merging or turning traffic and moved over to allow for it. Since it notifies you in advance I was able to watch and never felt the maneuvers were "risky".

All of this was only on lidar mapped roads of course, which in the newest update is about 400,000 miles in the US. It also now includes some secondary two-lane roads. And, as mentioned, it's hands-off as the system monitors you in other ways.

It does not do navigation or traffic light recognition. It does know where traffic lights are located and requires you to take over. If you pass under the light without stopping it will take back over beyond the light.

[Irace86.2.0]

Originally Posted by Dadhawk

Yes, for the most part. It does all the adaptive cruise control things you mention, then adds steering and either directed or automatic lanes changes to the mix.

While I was using it, it initiated and completed several passing maneuvers flawlessly. You can also initiate a lane change with the turn signal. You can also set it so SuperCruise only initiates lane changes on your request.

There were several occasions where it identified slow merging or turning traffic and moved over to allow for it. Since it notifies you in advance I was able to watch and never felt the maneuvers were "risky".

All of this was only on lidar mapped roads of course, which in the newest update is about 400,000 miles in the US. It also now includes some secondary two-lane roads. And, as mentioned, it's hands-off as the system monitors you in other ways.

It does not do navigation or traffic light recognition. It does know where traffic lights are located and requires you to take over. If you pass under the light without stopping it will take back over beyond the light.

Is Supercruise free or is all of it or parts of it extra? The Enhanced Autopilot costs several grand, so it would be nice if Supercruise was standard with lane change. Because it is only mapped areas, does the car know speed limits? Like if there was construction in a 65mph that had 55mph signs, would it know?

[Dadhawk]

Originally Posted by Irace86.2.0

Is Supercruise free or is all of it or parts of it extra? The Enhanced Autopilot costs several grand, so it would be nice if Supercruise was standard with lane change. Because it is only mapped areas, does the car know speed limits? Like if there was construction in a 65mph that had 55mph signs, would it know?

I didn't play with it enough to know about speed limits. It did slow down when speed limits changed, but it could be getting that from Google Automotive maps, and not by reading signs.

Price and availability depends on the vehicle.

It is included in the price of the LYRIQ at everything but the base trim. It is either included in, or is available as an option, in other GM vehicles but in typical OEM fashion only on specific trims and it's hard to separate it out from other items.

It was a $2,000 option on the Bolt Red Line edition for example, but that was the top trim. You can't get it on any base vehicles.

[Irace86.2.0]

This is for computer vision learning for FSD, but it will be used for their robotics division or for general AI, most likely.

[Irace86.2.0]

Rimac destroys, but in Tesla's defense, that Plaid is far cheaper and isn't loaded with carbon fiber. Still, the Rimac is running mid 8's.