Tesla, which also unveiled its Model X SUV this month, has been the USA pioneer in luxury electric cars powered by batteries, while its expertise in software has made it a leader in self-driving features, which more traditional carmakers have been slower to develop.
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Not all Model S vehicles are equipped with the full array of sensors required to run the Autopilot updates, but around 60,000 cars globally are compatible with the latest update.
At this stage, it’s necessary for the driver to remain alert and keep their hands on the steering wheel.
“It had one small issue where the interstate split off to the right for an exit, and the vehicle began to take the exit rather than stay in the right lane”, said The Wall Street Journal’s Mike Ramsey.
The auto can also parallel park for the driver or warn when an object such as another vehicle is too close the side of the Model S, the company said in post on its website.
Autopilot will be introduced into the plug-in sedans through a software update, which will be available starting Thursday. The technology is created to assist the driver on the road, making the “driving experience easier”.
It was also admitted by Musk that the new software’s features could struggle in severe weather like heavy snow. It works by gathering information about nearby cars, lane position and other data from ultrasonic sensors, a forward-facing camera and radar, and Global Positioning System married to highly precise maps. Although the Auto Pilot feature offered by Tesla is a good one, the company still advises drivers to be careful. In the press event revealing the autopilot feature, Tesla CEO, Elon Musk, describes this as a “beta” test.
While not fully self-driving, the software enables the vehicle to “automatically steer down the highway, change lanes, and adjust speed in response to traffic”.
But Musk was optimistic about the benefits of autopilot: “In the long term it will be safer than a person driving”.
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During a Q&A session, Musk was asked who is liable if an accident occurs when the automatic lane changing feature is used. What the update does is this: installs a capability Tesla is calling “Autosteer”, which acts as a backup to the actions of the human driver.
