Will Tesla steer if autopilot is engaged but your hand are on the wheel? If so how much force is required to overcome autosteer?

Question

I don't own a Tesla but I have read a lot about them. I know that there is an autosteer feature that allows the car to steer for you, but I also know that you need to constantly put your hands on the wheel in order for it not to leave autosteer mode. My question is this: Will the Tesla steer for you while your hands are resting on the wheel, and if so how much force do you need to apply to counter its attempts to steer? Obviously you would want to be able to steer your car if you disagreed with autopilot, but you wouldn't want the weight of your resting hands to prevent autosteer from working if you want it to steer for you.

Answer 1

With your hands on the wheel, you will be able to feel the wheel turning as the autosteer applies steering force. If you try to gently turn the wheel yourself, it will apply an opposite force in order to keep you going in the direction it wants. If you turn the wheel harder, it senses this, and cancels the autosteering on the assumption you want to take over.

It's not the weight of your hands, so much as it is the extra force it supplies to make your hands turn with the wheel, that it is measuring. In fact, with both hands on the wheel and all the turning force perfectly balanced out, it sometimes doesn't even know you are holding it. You sometimes have to supply small inputs to assure it you are there.