The story of a Tesla Model S crashing into the back of a trailer while the ‘summon’ feature of the Autopilot was activated has been making the headlines since last week. Tesla placed the blame with the driver, but now the automaker pushes an update to its fleet to add a step to the Summon feature that could potentially have prevented the accident.
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A Tesla Model S driver in Utah, Jared Overton, says that he parked his car behind a trailer before running an errand for a few minutes. When he returned to his vehicle, he says he found it crashed in the back of the trailer with the windshield crushed by the trailer’s bed – picture above.
The owner claims the car decided to move forward on its own, but after verifying the logs, Tesla claims that the ‘Summon’ feature, which allows the vehicle to drive itself on short distances without anyone in the car, was activated seconds after the car was parked.
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Following the unveiling of an updated version of its Model S earlier this week, Tesla has been contacting current Model S owners to invite them to a new event series called “Tesla Weekend Social”.
While the company says this month’s events will focus on Tesla’s ‘Summon’ feature, it will likely be a good occasion to showcase the updated Model S to current owners potentially looking to upgrade their vehicle.
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Over the weekend, app developer Touch Titans published a quick demo video (see below) of what it claims to be a “mind-controlled Tesla Model S”. Although a stretch and gimmicky, the statement is technically correct (if you consider simple brain activity to be your mind).
Touch Titans is using the Emotiv Insight, a brain activity monitor, to record and translate brainwaves into data. Then, it uses Tesla’s API tools to make these inputs activate the same features available through Tesla’s official app.
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Tesla released its latest software update (v7.1 2.12.22) for the Model S and X yesterday. You can read the full release notes here, but the main improvement is the ability to activate the Summon/self-parking feature from inside the vehicle before exiting, and we now have a video demonstrating the improved feature.
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Consumer Reports has been testing Tesla’s latest ‘Autopilot’ update (v7.1) since its unveiling last month and especially the new feature called ‘Summon’, which allows Tesla owners to remotely move their vehicle without anyone in it.
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Last month Tesla released its latest ‘Autopilot’ update (v7.1), which we covered intensively, but if you are not up-to-date with Tesla’s latest software, the Model S’ Autopilot now includes a new feature called ‘Summon’, which allows Tesla owners to remotely move their vehicle without anyone in it.
At the moment, it is primarily used to get the Model S in and out of a garage easily, but in the future, Tesla CEO Elon Musk says you will be able to summon your car from across the country and it will come meet you while charging at Tesla Superchargers along the way.
Last night, Tesla released a new video titled “Revolutionize Your Commute”.
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In its latest video, Drag Times demonstrated a potential application for Tesla’s latest feature. Drag Times used the new ‘Summon’ feature to autonomously move the Model S a few dozen feet to “save” the owner from the rain by picking him up under a porte-cochère.
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Elon Musk held a press conference with Q&A yesterday for the release of Tesla’s software update v7.1 for the Model S and X. You can find a recording of the call below and a few highlights of the discussion.
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After the well-documented release notes of the 7.1 update for the Model S and X Saturday, Tesla published a short blog update on Sunday and held a press conference to reveal its ambitions for the future of the ‘Summon’ feature, while Tesla CEO Elon Musk took to Twitter to describes what he calls the “first baby step” of the ‘Summon’ capability and its potential for the future.
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Tesla released today the version 7.1 of its software for the Model S and X. The new update includes everything we told you about when Tesla started testing the build with beta testers last month: UI improvements, a new self-parking feature, ‘Driver Mode’ and Autopilot restrictions, but the automaker is also introducing the “Summon” feature, which enables the Model S to drive itself without anyone in the car.
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