Tesla released its latest software update,gloomy eroticism V10, on Thursday, and amongst the new games, streaming services (Spotify at last!), and Joe Mode, came an autonomous driving update.
Customers who have a Full Self-Driving capable car or Enhanced Autopilot package already had a Summon feature through the Tesla mobile app. Now they have Smart Summon. And everyone is trying it out.
Smart Summon goes beyond its predecessor's simple ability to remotely move the car forward and backward while outside the vehicle. Now you can set the car to navigate a parking lot and come to you — but only if the car is within your line of sight.
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People put the more complicated summon tool to the test, even though Tesla warned users "must remain responsible for the car and monitor it and its surroundings at all times."
Here's what happened when Tesla owners pushed the "come to me" button on their apps.
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It wasn't all smooth
Smart summon made some cars drive on the wrong side of the ride and have other close calls.
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#TeslaSummonIssues
A hashtag, #TeslaSummonIssues, started bubbling up on Twitter for all the mistakes the autonomous feature was making on real roads.
This dude actually got in a fender bender using Smart Summon:
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While this passerby freaked out that a car was moving with no one inside:
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The best situation for Smart Summon would be if your Tesla was parked in a sea of Tesla vehicles in a lot and you wouldn't have to figure out which one was yours. Or if it's pouring rain and you're carrying a lot of stuff.
But definitely keep an eye out, this is still the early days of the tech. As Tesla CEO Elon Musk said Friday, "Summon is improving rapidly."
UPDATE: Oct. 3, 2019, 5:39 p.m. PDT Musk announced on Twitter that by Wednesday afternoon that Smart Summon was used more than 550,000 times since last week's software update.
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Meanwhile, Bloomberg reported that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, or NHTSA, is monitoring the feature for any safety issues and will respond accordingly.
Topics Tesla Elon Musk