Unofficial Mostly-Autonomous Cannonball Run Driving Record Set: 57:48

Tesla Motors released an automated “over the air” software update to their vehicles on October 14 that enables “semi-autonomous” autopilot driving of many Model S and all Model X Tesla vehicles. Four days later, a driving team that has set several unofficial records for cross-country driving completed a “Cannonball Run” from California to New York, driving a red Model S P85D with the license plate “UBER QIK” in autopilot mode for 96% of the run, in just 57 hours and 48 minutes. Although Tesla cautions drivers from relying too much on the autopilot, many Tesla owners are taking advantage of it and even posting videos of their hands-off driving on social media.

A great article on WIRED’s website provides the details of the team that made the unofficial record coast-to-coast run:

AT 10:03 AM Wednesday, a red Tesla Model S P85D with the license plate “UBER QIK” arrived at a parking garage on East 31st Street in Manhattan. This is noteworthy only because that very car was at the Portofino Hotel in Redondo Beach, California, just two and a half days earlier.

The Model S crossed the country in record time for an EV—and drove itself nearly the entire way.

Carl Reese, Deena Mastracci, and Alex Roy made the coast-to-coast drive in 57 hours and 48 minutes, a time that is still to be verified by an independent third party. The three are veterans of record-setting transcontinental runs: In April, Reese and Mastracci set a record for the least time spent charging an EV while driving across the country. And Roy, a rally driver, set an unofficial “Cannonball Run” record in 2006, driving from New York to LA in just 31 hours and 4 minutes.

Arriving in New York in record time, without being arrested or killed, is a personal victory for the drivers. More than that, though, it highlights how quickly and enthusiastically autonomous technology is likely to be adopted, and how tricky it may be to keep in check once drivers get their first taste of freedom behind the wheel.

Elon Musk himself congratulated the drivers in a post on Twitter, although the company officially advises the owners of its cars to be cautious when using autopilot mode and be ready to take over control of the car at any time.

The drivers admitted that there were a few hairy moments, mostly because they were pushing the limits of the technology, driving at speeds up to 90 mph. The WIRED article continues:

Autopilot caused a few scares, Roy says, largely because the car was moving so quickly. “There were probably three or four moments where we were on autonomous mode at 90 miles an hour, and hands off the wheel,” and the road curved, Roy says. Where a trained driver would aim for the apex—the geometric center of the turn—to maintain speed and control, the car follows the lane lines. “If I hadn’t had my hands there, ready to take over, the car would have gone off the road and killed us.” He’s not annoyed by this, though. “That’s my fault for setting a speed faster than the system’s capable of compensating.”

In the end, it’s all just proof of the inevitable: self-driving cars are not just a concept any more, they have arrived, and they are here to stay. More details can be found in the excellent article from WIRED.

 

Source: WIRED.com – “Obviously Drivers Are Already Abusing Tesla’s Autopilot

Feature Photo Credit: Greg Ledet