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Tesla releases new Autopilot update with performance improvements and new car renderings

As Elon Musk announced earlier this week, Tesla started pushing a new Autopilot software update.

It features some performance improvements and it has a new feature that renders the surrounding car on the instrument cluster.

Tesla’s first generation Autopilot was able to render on the instrument cluster the vehicles around your car.

With the second generation Autopilot, the system was only rendering the vehicles in the same lane as the Tesla.

Earlier this year, we reported that Tesla started beta-testing a new Autopilot update with the feature and a more advanced neural net.

The automaker ended up releasing the update with the more advanced neural net, but it didn’t have the new rendering system.

As we reported earlier this week, Tesla had the feature again in a beta release tested in its customer fleet.

With this week’s update (2018.21.9), Tesla has introduced the feature along with improvements to the other Autopilot features – building on the previously updated neural net.

Owners are starting to test out the new update and posting videos of their first drives.

Here’s one from ‘Black Tesla’ on Youtube that shows the new renderings on the instrument cluster (pictured above) with a drive on the highway:

Electrek’s Take

It seems quite smooth on the highway based on the video above, but that was already the case after the big March update.

We will need to see more drives from owners as the update rolls out. If you have more good videos, please send them my way.

It also looks like Tesla slightly updated its ‘hands on the steering wheel’ warning with the top of the instrument cluster lighting up.

As usual, I like to add a little reminder that even though the system is improving significantly over the last few months and it looks like it will continue to improve, it’s important not to be overconfident in the system and always stay attentive when using it and be ready to take control.

Stay safe out there.

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Avatar for Fred Lambert Fred Lambert

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