Alex Roy claims coast-to-coast Tesla Autopilot record in 57 hours, 48 minutes


This article, Alex Roy claims coast-to-coast Tesla Autopilot record in 57 hours, 48 minutes, originally appeared on CNET.com.

Rally race driver Alex Roy just completed a 2,700-mile sprint from New York to Los Angeles behind the wheel of an Autopilot-enabled Tesla Model S in an impressive 57 hours and 48 minutes, spending most of that time hands-off. The announcement was made on Jalopnik founder Mike Spinelli's Instagram account, and data to back up the claim will be made available soon. Roy achieved this with the help of Carl Reese and Deena Mastracci, both of whom (along with Rod Hawk) held the prior record for the shortest charging time coast-to-coast in the same Model S.

Roy is best known in automotive circles for setting a coast-to-coast record in a gasoline-powered car in 2006, which he completed in an astounding (and, naturally, very illegal) 31 hours and 4 minutes. His car, a heavily modified BMW M5 sedan, carried radios, jammers, and all manner of equipment required to avoid the police and any potential traffic jams. Guinness World Records refused to honor the record, claiming that the group does not verify records that require lawbreaking.


This trip was, naturally, a fair bit slower than the ones before. A Tesla Model S has a range of just under 300 miles -- and it goes lower once air conditioning, traffic and speeding are taken into account. The fastest way to juice up a Tesla's battery is with the company's Supercharger network of high-speed EV chargers, but even that still takes a good deal of time -- Tesla's website states that a Supercharger can provide 170 miles of range in approximately 30 minutes. Thankfully, there are currently 534 Supercharger stations across the country, giving Roy the juice he needed to complete the sprint.

Roy is a staunch defender of both electric vehicles and the latest wave of semi-autonomous vehicles. Between frequent posts on Jalopnik, social media posts decrying the media's incorrect portrayal of self-driving-car technology and even his own TEDx talk, Roy is clearly very excited about the future ... so long as everybody gets their acts together.


While no company would have the chutzpah to outright endorse an individual breaking the law, the feat still remains an impressive one. At the least, his efforts should put to rest the notion ( however foolish ) that Tesla's Autopilot is inherently unsafe or even remotely dangerous.

Editors' note, October 13, 2015: This story has been updated to include the names of Roy's two co-pilots, who also deserve credit for the achievement as all three were integral parts of the attempt.


https://www.yahoo.com/tech/s/alex-ro...200957328.html

 

it is very cool as long as people understand that Tesla's autopilot has forward sensors, like everyone else. There is a reason that Musk told everyone to use it with hands on wheel and that Tesla will not accept liability if anything happens.

If few years when real autonomous cars come out, they will have 7-9 more sensors to know whats happening all around (including Tesla's).

As long as everyone understands the limitations, it is the coolest thing ever.

 

fittingly to this topic, i just saw this video posted on priuschat by accident


So if you have a Tesla or any car with steering support, just realize that it is just a computer and a set of very limited front sensors. I am very/extremely excited about all of this autonomous tech (especially auto brake, but even more fur future autonomous driving) but we all need to realize that nothing is perfect and common sense needs to be applied.

 

I have also watched a few videos on youtube of the autopilot and it does great on straight roads of all speeds. When you do enter turns into the equation, they are usually very abrupt turns, not smooth at all. One reviewer did say that each tesla with autopilot is constantly uploading the data from drivers using the system to their servers in order to improve the autopilot.

 

I've been enjoying the Model S even more since it's latest firmware upgrade to Auto Steer.

The Auto Steer feature was a novelty at first, but it locks the steering wheel too tight at times, and I'm concerned yanking the steering wheel accidentally at times to disengage, would stress out the components over time.

That said, it's still a very nice feature that works well in stop and go L.A. traffic and greatly helps conserve mental energy.

 

From personal experience, when the lanes are well painted, negotiating/ following turns at highway speed is no issue at all. If two lanes are merging, that's when the driver needs to pay attention and almost certainly needs to assist the car.

With the Tesla, the requiste effort of driving is redefined. I feel like i'm using the car, not driving it, the same way intuitively and effortlessly as using my cell phone. I just sit in the car to turn it on, it's quick and light to pick up speed. It's quiet, safe, and the screens keep me informed and entertained. Lane changing "almost" requires no other movement than depressing or lifting the turning signal stalk.

 

Yea I'm sure. You should read the comments to that vid the stunt very likely staged, and even if it wasn't the person was using autopilot on a type of road the instructions specifically say not to.

 

I just heard a report yesterday that Tesla is going to partially disable its auto pilot feature because too many idiots are attempting really dangerous maneuvers, and posting them to You Tube.

 

Lol, you just can't help yourself.