Four hundred miles with Tesla’s autopilot forced me to trust the machine

Ars Technica:

I toggled on the auto-cruise and auto-steer, dialed the target speed up to 90mph and the desired follow distance to four cars, parked myself in the right lane, and pulled my hands slowly away from the wheel.

It takes a while to get used to this feeling. Instead of serving as the primary means of direction for a car, you’re now a meat-based backup and failsafe system. Instincts and impulses formed by more than two decades behind the wheel scream out a warning—”GRAB THE WHEEL NOW OR YOU’LL DIE”—while the rational forebrain fights back. Eventually, the voices quiet as the car starts to prove itself. When the road curves, the car follows. If the car is ever going too fast to negotiate the curve, it slows down and then accelerates smoothly back out of the turn.

This is a really interesting read. I still won’t give up my motorcycle for a (semi) autonomous car but this description of a long trip while letting the Tesla take care of a lot of the driving shows you what the future will hold.