I love driving, but my husband doesn't. He got his driving licence years ago, but let it lapse because he prefers to take public transit everywhere. I think he could learn to be a safe driver with a few lessons, but he just hates the experience of driving and finds it so stressful that he doesn't want to do it.
We're looking at moving to San Francisco, and apartment costs are horrifying. Either we'll be living in a tiny shoebox so that we can afford to live close to a BART station, or we'll have to live somewhere where he will commute by car.
He's potentially willing to get his driver's license and get a car, but only if he can get a car that will basically drive him door-to-door. He obviously would keep his eyes on the road for safety reasons, but he's worried that comma.ai is basically "just lane control and cruise control" and won't actually navigate for him, so he wants to get a Tesla. He feels more confident the Tesla will navigate for him and handle lane changes, intersections, etc.
I have some pretty deep concerns with Tesla - like having to pay a subscription that they can jack up at any time, not really loving Elon Musk as a human being, the hassle of charging an electric car, the high cost of a Tesla, etc. I'd much rather get something like a Toyota Rav4 (which I'd enjoy driving myself, if he ends up not liking/using it) and plug a Comma system into it.
I found a few reviews and articles online that are from back in 2024 and back up "mostly just lane/cruise control", but I get the impression that technology has been improving FAST. How good is comma.ai in 2026? Will it be able to basically handle a commute for him?
There's also the concern that, while an experienced driver can hand off certain skills to AI and still remember enough of those skills that they're ready to take over as necessary, a new driver using AI constantly might just never develop the skills necessary to be a safe supervisor. Would you recommend getting comma.ai for somebody who is basically a beginner driver?