Watch Tesla’s new Navigate on Autopilot feature in v9 at work

With its new version 9 software, Tesla is releasing its first major new Autopilot feature in a long time: Navigate on Autopilot.

Now we get to see the new feature at work for the first time.

Tesla described the feature in the release notes:

“Our newest Autopilot convenience feature, designed to get you to your destination more efficiently by guiding your car on and off the highway. Navigate on Autopilot intelligently suggests lane changes to keep you on your route in addition to making adjustments so you don’t get stuck behind slow cars or trucks.

When Navigate on Autopilot is active, a single blue line indicates the path ahead, keeping your car in the lane. Gray lines highlight lane changes for a more efficient driving route. Navigate on Autopilot will also automatically steer toward and take the correct highway interchanges and exits based on your destination.

You can enable Navigate on Autopilot by going to Controls > Autopilot and first enabling Autosteer. For each route where Navigate on Autopilot is available, you have the option of enabling the feature by pressing the button located in the Navigation Turn List.”

It basically allows Autopilot to automatically overtake cars on the highway and take exits and interchanges.

Here’s what it looks like on the instrument cluster of a Model S (via Dennis_D):

We can see the path planning represented by the blue line and the turn signal appear when the Autopilot wants to do a lane change.

The driver can decide if those lane changes can be performed automatically or if they need to be approved with a pull on the turn signal stalk.

We can also see the lines becoming red when a vehicle is detected in a blind spot, which is preventing the Autopilot to perform a lane change.

Here’s also another video of Navigate on Autopilot in v9 being used in Europe:

The Navigate on Autopilot feature is only in beta and as usual, we recommend being extremely careful when using it. Always stay attentive and be ready to take control at all times.

Also, keep in mind that Tesla gradually pushes its software updates to its fleet. It can take days or weeks to make it to everyone.