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10 days agoTesla has also been doing this for years. My 2019 Model 3 has an upgrade option for the acceleration. It’s a one time payment, but Tesla’s no stranger to the subscription model. They offer monthly fees for the upgraded “self-driving” package and occasionally give me a free trial period to try it out. I’ve had enough phantom braking incidents with the stock version that I’ll never use it.
ETA: Also, any upgrades I get for my car will not transfer if I sell it. I’m guessing that’s a big incentive for Volkswagen and the like to jump on board for this shitty practice.
FSD (and stock Autopilot, for that matter) are systems you engage while driving, similar to Cruise Control. I feel like the capabilities are different enough that the average driver wouldn’t get too used to FSD over a couple week period.
For me as someone who drives a decent amount of country backroads, I’m wondering whether the stock Autopilot obeys stop signs. I know it didn’t when I first got the car, and I wasn’t in a hurry to test if they added the functionality. I could see maybe someone renting a Tesla with FSD, getting used to it, then not realizing that the next Tesla they rented without FSD was going to blow through a stop sign.