First drive

Before your first drive, read the NotAutopilot safety page. It is required reading. Then read this page before driving. The engagement flow on pre-AP Model S has a few steps that differ from factory adaptive cruise, and getting them in the wrong order means nothing will engage. Five minutes here saves ten minutes of confusion in a parking lot.

Before you drive

Confirm the comma device has booted and the car is recognized — the UI should show camera lanes and switch to drive mode when you put the car in Drive. If it shows "Car Offline" or an alert about the panda, the harness connection needs attention before you drive.

The first few drives are calibration drives. NAP needs speed data from the road to finish camera calibration. Drive normally at highway speeds for a few minutes; the UI will indicate when calibration is complete. Until then, lane lines may not display correctly and engagement will be unavailable.

No-pedal mode: arming stock cruise

In no-pedal mode (no Comma Pedal installed, or pedal mode disabled in settings), NAP controls steering while the car's stock cruise control manages speed. Stock Tesla cruise requires the driver to arm it first with the end-of-stalk button — the orange "cruise ready" LED on the stalk must be on before NAP can engage.

NAP never turns the cruise master on for you. Press the end of the cruise stalk inward until the orange LED lights up. This is a deliberate design choice: requiring the driver to consciously arm cruise means engagement cannot happen by accident.

Once the orange LED is on and you are above roughly 18 mph (29 km/h):

1. Double-pull the cruise stalk — pull the stalk backward twice in quick succession. The first pull opens an engagement window; the second pull within that window commits the engage. A single pull in the default configuration gives lateral-only (steering assist, no speed control).
2. The comma UI will show the engaged state; if you have radar, lead-car distance is displayed.
3. Stock CC is now active at your current speed. NAP is steering. Adjust set speed with the normal stalk up/down buttons.

One thing to be clear about: in this mode the cruise is the car's plain, fixed-speed cruise control. NAP will not slow you down for a car ahead — watching traffic and adjusting speed stays your job, exactly like driving with cruise in any pre-2010s car. Adaptive following requires the Comma Pedal.

The double-pull is a deliberate guard against accidental engagement — a single bump of the stalk will not fully engage the system.

Pedal mode: engaging with the Comma Pedal

With a Comma Pedal installed and pedal mode enabled in settings, the engagement sequence is the same double-pull. The difference is that NAP directly controls throttle via the pedal interceptor rather than spoofing stalk commands to stock CC.

In pedal mode you do not need to arm the stock cruise. Just double-pull and NAP engages — throttle and steering both active immediately, at any speed above roughly 1 mph.

What engagement feels like

The first time, it can feel subtle. The steering wheel will start making small corrections; you may feel it tug gently if the car drifts toward a lane line. Speed holds near what you had at the moment of engagement. In pedal mode, NAP then follows a lead car if one is detected; in no-pedal mode the speed just stays where you set it.

Lane centering on this car is not as aggressive as factory Autopilot. It works best on highways with clear lane markings. Faded paint, shadows, and tight curves will produce more corrections and may cause the system to alert.

Adjusting set speed

In no-pedal mode, stalk up/down changes cruise speed exactly as stock CC does — 1 mph per half-press, 5 mph per full press. Speed limits from map data are displayed as a reference on the comma UI; NAP in no-pedal mode will not automatically cap speed to the limit.

In pedal mode, the same stalk inputs adjust the NAP speed target.

Disengaging

There are several ways to disengage, and they behave differently depending on mode:

Stalk cancel (push stalk in) — fully disengages everything, both steering and speed control. Works in both modes. This is the clean, intentional disengage.

Steering override — applying firm pressure to the steering wheel (hands-on level 3 or higher) triggers a steering disengage. The FSM tears down fully: both steering and longitudinal drop. The override threshold is intentional; light hands-on resistance is normal while NAP steers.

Brake pedal in pedal mode — pressing the brake drops longitudinal control (throttle returns to driver) but keeps steering active. If you want to brake while NAP steers around a curve, you can do that. A full disengage requires the stalk cancel or a steering override. This behavior differs from no-pedal mode.

Brake pedal in no-pedal mode — pressing the brake disengages stock CC, which also takes NAP's speed control with it. Steering may remain active briefly; use the stalk cancel for a clean full disengage.

Speed below ~18 mph in no-pedal mode — stock CC disengages below roughly 18 mph (29 km/h). NAP's longitudinal control goes with it. Steering may remain active down to lower speeds.

What to expect on the first few drives

• The car will make small steering corrections you are not used to. Let it. Resist the urge to fight it; firm hands-on will disengage the system.
• Engagement at highway speeds is more comfortable than at surface-street speeds the first time. Start on a familiar, clear highway.
• Pay attention to the comma UI alerts. The first several drives will produce calibration notices, fingerprint confirmations, and possibly EPAS-related messages. Most of these resolve as calibration completes.
• The camera needs good lane markings. Dusty or rain-wet roads, construction zones with temporary paint, and bridges with no edge lines will cause more disengagements.
• You are still responsible for watching for hazards, checking mirrors, and braking. NAP cannot apply friction brakes. Every drive, keep your foot ready. See Safety and limitations.