--- title: "People Are Going to Tesla Service Centers Just to Learn About Autopilot" description: "A Tesla executive revealed that the number one reason Tesla customers visit service centers is to learn how to use Autopilot." date: "2019-07-25" modified: "2019-07-25" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/tesla-service-centers-teach-autopilot" categories: - "Advanced Transport" - "Tesla" tags: - "autopilot" - "Self-driving cars" - "tesla" - "the digest" --- # People Are Going to Tesla Service Centers Just to Learn About Autopilot ![A Tesla executive revealed that the number one reason Tesla customers visit service centers is to learn how to use Autopilot.]() *\Image: Shutterstock/Victor Tangermann\* ## Autopilot 101 Tesla is selling a lot more cars than it used to. In Q2 of this year, the electric car company moved 77,634 Model 3 vehicles alone. And many of those new owners seem to be hazy about how to use the cars' Autopilot feature, [*Electrek* reports](): the single most common reason why customers visit Tesla service centers is to learn about the steering-assist tech. ## Course Correct According to *Electrek*, Tesla used to offer a brief orientation about Autopilot on delivery, but since most of the sale process moved online, most customers have to rely on short videos on Tesla's support page to learn about the feature. It's good that Tesla buyers are learning how to use their cars safely. But there's a good deal of evidence that customers have been misled by the term "Autopilot" in the past. There have been [multiple reports]() of drivers falling asleep — or [passing out]() — behind the wheel, seemingly confident that the car will get them where they need to go in one piece. ## Apple Store Tesla [announced]() it would close dealerships to focus on selling cars exclusively online in late February, only to [reverse course]() weeks later. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety published a [study]() last month focused on automated driving systems, including Tesla’s Autopilot. The result: Tesla is at least partly to blame for the perceived and actual self-driving capabilities of their vehicles. **READ MORE:** [Tesla says number one reason owners visit service is to learn how to use Autopilot]() \[*Electrek*\] **More on Autopilot:** *[Idiot Drivers Can’t Grasp That Teslas Aren’t Fully Autonomous]()* ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()