Vicki McConachie: Canberra, ACT, lives in a house with rooftop solar. There was one big hurdle this Toyota Landcruiser driver had to clear before getting behind the wheel of her first Tesla: learning to trust the judgment of billionaire Tesla boss Elon Musk. Could she rely on Tesla’s automated prompts to brake, make lane changes, and take exits? Musk has equipped his Tesla cars with an array of sensors to operate a semi-autopilot system.
But the cruise control feature, which has been rolled out as part of the move to autopilot, makes the Tesla far more enjoyable to drive compared to the Landcruiser. The adjustment: Once you trust Tesla’s system, the car is very simple to drive, McConachie says. The issue of phantom-braking – where the car inexplicably stops – was obviously a dangerous flaw in the programming, but has since been ironed out.