Jeff Mc Quinn gives credit to his Model 3 driver-assist system for saving him from getting sideswiped on the freeway. Mc Quinn felt his Model 3 swerve into an adjacent lane. He believed something was strange and thought the Autopilot was malfunctioning. Only when he reviewed the vehicle dashcam footage, which he shared on YouTube, did the Model 3 owner realize that the Autopilot system saved him from being sideswiped by a truck.

Tesla's Autopilot is a system designed for safety on the road. The system uses eight cameras, ultrasonic sensors, radar, and artificial intelligence to observe the vehicle surroundings. The results of the vehicle safety reports for Autopilot have been released by Tesla over the past quarters, and so far, do imply that the drive-assist system makes driving significantly safer.

On May 22, Tesla announced that Autopilot is now standard on the Model 3 Long Range Rear-Wheel Drive. Thus the EV's starting price has been increased by $1,000 (for the Autopilot) plus the latest increment of prices for all Model 3 versions, of $400.00.

Well, even if I am a fan of safety on the road - considering the cost of the feature, now included in the vehicle starting price - I did like it better when the customer could opt to buy the said Model 3 version also without the Autopilot system.

Further reading

Read our full review on the 2018 Tesla Model 3.