Electric car company Tesla recently rolled out the latest software update to its Autopilot 2.0 technology. The new 8.1 software update brings semi-autonomous driving technologies to vehicles built by Tesla since October 2016.
This is an important update as it brings the necessary software in order to take advantage of the advanced hardware components embedded on the Model S and Model X cars manufactured around that time. The release of the Tesla Software 8.1 will bring a handful of new features, as well as updates for already installed ones, according to The Verge.
Tesla 8.1 update: Elon Musk says it’s coming in ’10 days or so’ depending on Autopilot 2.0 progress https://t.co/r5DLktcBZt
— Elon Musk News (@ElonMuskNewsOrg) March 13, 2017
Lane Departure Warning. This particular feature sends out vibration alerts to the steering wheel in order to notify the driver if their car is leaving the marked lane without activating the appropriate turn signal.
Auto Lane Change. This is a feature embedded within the Autosteer functionality. This feature allows the car to autonomously and appropriately change lanes when the driver activates the turn signals while driving on a multi-lane road. When activated, the car will change lane based on the direction of the turn signal.
High-Speed Autosteer. While this feature is already a staple to some models, Tesla is enhancing it with the latest update. The latest update allows Tesla HW2 cars to use the Autosteer feature to speeds of up to 80mph, an upgrade from 45mph in the past version of the software.
Summon. This feature allows a Tesla car to pull in or pull out of parking spaces which the need of a driver sitting on the driver seat. Users can activate this by pressing a button on the key fob or through the Tesla mobile app.
While these are all nifty features, some tech analysts have pointed out a couple of missing features from the latest update. Among these are automatic emergency braking, and automatic activation of high beam headlights and windshield wipers.
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