Tesla's Autopilot feature is one of the many ways that the electric vehicle manufacturer stands out among its competition.
In fact, earlier today, the Daily Mail ran a story about the Tesla Model S' Autopilot system saving an Ohio man from a dangerous accident with a truck by alerting the driver with a warning chime, making the vehicle swerve to the right and avoid the collision. Close call.
Well, knowing it has something special in its Autopilot feature, Tesla is offering its Model S and Model X owners without Autopilot enabled a free one-month trial period instead. The point of the trial is for owners to thoroughly check out the software and see firsthand how the system's features, such as semi-autonomous steering and adaptive cruise control, work and can be invaluable.
A post in Reddit's /r/teslamotors subreddit, as spotted by CNET's Road Show, even posted a screen shot showing how Tesla is offering the trial period.
"Try Autopilot Convenience Features and experience a stress-free commute," a screen shot from the software itself and trial offer reads. "This one-month free trial enables automatic steering, speed, lane changing, and parking with Summon. Once your trial begins, you'll receive an email with instructions for permanently upgrading your Tesla."
It's followed by an option to "skip" or "start trial." Choose wisely, because after the one-month trial period concludes, Model S and Model X owners will have to cough up $2,500 when ordering a new vehicle or $3,000 after the vehicle has already been purchased and delivered.
We bet the Ohio man, Joshua Brown, who used Autopilot at such a critical juncture to save his life, would implore fellow Tesla owners to spring for the software package.
"I was driving down the interstate and you can see the boom lift truck in question on the left side of the screen on a joining interstate road. Once the roads merged, the truck tried to get to the exit ramp on the right and never saw my Tesla," he described, as reported by the Daily Mail. "I actually wasn't watching that direction and Tessy was on duty with autopilot engaged. I became aware of the danger when Tessy alerted me with the 'immediately take over' warning chime and the car swerving to the right to avoid the side collision."
That should serve as a ringing endorsement to get the Autopilot system. Don't you think?
