There’s basic cruise control standard. We got our Model 3 a little over a week ago, and we don’t have Autopilot. You just pull down on the right steering wheel stalk once while driving, and you’re in cruise control. You can pull it up to cancel. To adjust the speed, you can either cancel, manually accelerate or decelerate to the new desired speed and reactivate OR you can use the screen to tap a + or - symbol to adjust the speed.
Unfortunately, traffic-aware cruise control is only available if you get Autopilot.
I am a little disappointed that the standard cruise is not "active" cruise like I have on my Volt....it is a very nice feature that I am enjoying so much I am not sure I would want to go back to standard cruise control.
Yes they are pretty savvy (or is it sneaky? . That's the only reason I added on EAP -- I need adaptive cruise control. I just paid $4k for it. I guess I get a fun toy with autosteer but I never would have paid for it on its own.
@EVRider, you beat me to it. Oh, and by my “neck of the woods,” I refer to planet Earth. Where are you from, @spuzzzzzzzz? Maybe your Martian money goes for $1.25 USD?
"I am a little disappointed that the standard cruise is not "active" cruise like I have on my Volt....it is a very nice feature that I am enjoying so much I am not sure I would want to go back to standard cruise control."
Tesla did it to "force" (some might more kindly say entice) people to autopilot. Considering Toyota Corollas, costing barely more than 1/3rd the price of the current model 3, now come standard with adaptive cruise control, it is quite amazing tesla has the gall to release a $50k car on the road without it.
I am okay with saying forced. Tesla feels that EAP is safer than the normal driver. One thing they are trying to do is not only change the type of cars on the road, but the safety of the road itself. They shoot to make their cars the safest out there. They firmly believe that EAP helps in that regard (see NHTSA's statement: "NHTSA notes that crash rates involving Tesla cars have dropped by almost 40 percent since the wide introduction of Autopilot").
So yes, they would force everyone to have it to help deliver a safer world we travel in. Sure you can say all you want about some accidents involving EAP - but how many accidents happen a DAY!
Anyway, yup, they are forcing you to buy it if you want TAAC. You don't have to get a Tesla, you can get one of those other cars it comes standard on. Tesla doesn't have to offer something standard on a car...they know that there are options out there, but obviously feel the car they offer is superior and hence, can charge for things like that. We don't have to like it, and so if we don't we have options. And yelling at Tesla is not one of them...
Lol I was beginning to think my posts were invisible. It’s nice to see that they are thoroughly read and fact checked for accuracy! Very funny billlake u
Tesla will probably offer tacc as standard, reduce the price of autopilot and lr battery, and maybe even pup "although it's priced competitive" when production goes full capacity and demand dips below supply. For now however with an unheard of number of people waiting in line, if you don't like it go buy something else. The company needs as much money as it can get from customers.
What is the allure of the adaptive cruise control anyway? I've never had a car with it so I do not know what I am missing possibly. Does it just make you follow car in front of you matching its speed or does it do anything else? If all ti does, is match the speed of the car in front, does it not just make you tag along one of those highway herds that I hate driving in? I just set my speed in the dumb cruise control and either pass the herd or am passed by it and enjoy an open and uncluttered road most of the time. So what is the appeal of the adaptive cruise control?
@agkulcz I used for the first time 2 days ago in bumper to bumper traffic. If you are ever stuck packed freeway traffic for an hour+, you will love it. No more gas...brake...gas...brake which can really grind on you. You set it and it keeps up with traffic flow, including stopped traffic. In dense traffic it can sense to car in front of the car in front of you. It will start slowing down before the driver in front of you brakes. Very cool feature.
@djharrington - I went back and am conflicted. I give TACC cruise an A in traffic and a B the rest of the time. On the highway it just can’t operate as smoothly as I can drive the car myself.
If I just want to set my speed and sit in the middle lane, I will inevitably end up going slower than I want as slower cars get in my way. This requires me to either accept the reduced speed or maneuver around traffic just as I would with basic cruise. If I’m in the left lane getting around slower traffic, the following distance of the car in front of me tends to invite people to pull in front of me causing the car to abruptly check up or, if a car is behind me, to get up on my tail because I’m not staying up with or pushing the car in front of me. Yes, the car is keeping a safe following distance, but even the minimum is unacceptable to most cars driving behind you. Real world driving conditions make TACC less desirable for me as a result.
The safety of TACC is a consideration. Initially I had to retrain myself a bit to not expect the car to slow down or stop for me. If you are inattentive at the wrong time, this feature may save you from a wreck.
@agkulcz, Ah, sounds like you live in the types of areas where I live, where the highways are mostly open. Regular cruise control is fine, and TACC doesn’t have much advantage. Apparently the huge benefit of it is when you’re in heavy traffic like @jvcesare is talking about where speeds are constantly going up and down, and there’s always a car in front of you for the sensors to follow. In that case, the car can manage itself instead of driving you crazy.
@madkim23 "If I’m in the left lane getting around slower traffic, the following distance of the car in front of me tends to invite people to pull in front of me causing the car to abruptly check up or, if a car is behind me, to get up on my tail because I’m not staying up with or pushing the car in front of me. Yes, the car is keeping a safe following distance, but even the minimum is unacceptable to most cars driving behind you."
I've been getting used to both TACC and AP. I am tending to use a follow distance of 5-7, so my experiences may not match yours. I've had people move in front of me, but the AP does not instantly react by slowing down. Rather it slowly allows the space to increase.
As to making the drivers behind you happy? Not my concern. As long as I'm moving faster than the cars in the next lane to the right, I'm passing them and therefore have every reason to be in the left lane. I'll move over when it's safe to let impatient drivers ahead, but I the attitude that I have to make them "happy" is not something I subscribe to.
I suspect that my experience of TACC/AP may be colored by the fact I've had 2018.10.x from delivery, and I understand this version is much smoother than prior versions.
@madkim: “If you are inattentive at the wrong time, this feature may save you from a wreck.” And actually, AEB, standard on all Tesla’s with AP/EAP hardware, should accomplish the same, correct?
@rx: “It does not detect stopped traffic in the distance.”
I’ve been testing this (much to my wife’s displeasure) since we were new to Tesla a couple years back with AP1. I had an exciting test before I realized it wasn’t meant to reliably detect stopped traffic above a certain speed (think it is 50 without looking at the manual?). However, I’ve noticed the 3 get substantially more reliable with high-speed stopped traffic since 2018.10. Have you noticed the same? Very nice progress in the right direction!
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Unfortunately, traffic-aware cruise control is only available if you get Autopilot.
How’d you get a $1k discount on EAP?! It costs $5k in my neck of the woods.
Tesla did it to "force" (some might more kindly say entice) people to autopilot. Considering Toyota Corollas, costing barely more than 1/3rd the price of the current model 3, now come standard with adaptive cruise control, it is quite amazing tesla has the gall to release a $50k car on the road without it.
So yes, they would force everyone to have it to help deliver a safer world we travel in. Sure you can say all you want about some accidents involving EAP - but how many accidents happen a DAY!
Anyway, yup, they are forcing you to buy it if you want TAAC. You don't have to get a Tesla, you can get one of those other cars it comes standard on. Tesla doesn't have to offer something standard on a car...they know that there are options out there, but obviously feel the car they offer is superior and hence, can charge for things like that. We don't have to like it, and so if we don't we have options. And yelling at Tesla is not one of them...
If I just want to set my speed and sit in the middle lane, I will inevitably end up going slower than I want as slower cars get in my way. This requires me to either accept the reduced speed or maneuver around traffic just as I would with basic cruise. If I’m in the left lane getting around slower traffic, the following distance of the car in front of me tends to invite people to pull in front of me causing the car to abruptly check up or, if a car is behind me, to get up on my tail because I’m not staying up with or pushing the car in front of me. Yes, the car is keeping a safe following distance, but even the minimum is unacceptable to most cars driving behind you. Real world driving conditions make TACC less desirable for me as a result.
The safety of TACC is a consideration. Initially I had to retrain myself a bit to not expect the car to slow down or stop for me. If you are inattentive at the wrong time, this feature may save you from a wreck.
I've been getting used to both TACC and AP. I am tending to use a follow distance of 5-7, so my experiences may not match yours. I've had people move in front of me, but the AP does not instantly react by slowing down. Rather it slowly allows the space to increase.
As to making the drivers behind you happy? Not my concern. As long as I'm moving faster than the cars in the next lane to the right, I'm passing them and therefore have every reason to be in the left lane. I'll move over when it's safe to let impatient drivers ahead, but I the attitude that I have to make them "happy" is not something I subscribe to.
I suspect that my experience of TACC/AP may be colored by the fact I've had 2018.10.x from delivery, and I understand this version is much smoother than prior versions.
@rx: “It does not detect stopped traffic in the distance.”
I’ve been testing this (much to my wife’s displeasure) since we were new to Tesla a couple years back with AP1. I had an exciting test before I realized it wasn’t meant to reliably detect stopped traffic above a certain speed (think it is 50 without looking at the manual?). However, I’ve noticed the 3 get substantially more reliable with high-speed stopped traffic since 2018.10. Have you noticed the same? Very nice progress in the right direction!