CEO Elon Musk cautions that Autopilot is still in beta mode and that full hands-off driving was not recommended.

Tesla has announced that it is scaling back its AutoPilot feature, reports Automotive News. According to the report, the function will now be restricted on residential roads or roads without a centre divider, meaning that the car cannot drive faster than a maximum of the speed limit plus five miles per hour. When the system was launched in October 2015, Tesla CEO Elon Musk had cautioned that it was still in beta mode and that full hands-off driving was not recommended. Additionally, the update is said to include improvements for the car to better stay in lanes even with faded lane markings and when passing exits; in cruise control mode, the Model S will also now anticipate highway exits by slowing if the driver has activated the turn signal. Tesla has also added a feature called Summon. In a Tesla blog, the company says, "Using Summon, once you arrive home and exit Model S or X, you can prompt it to do the rest: open your garage door, enter your garage, park itself, and shut down. In the morning, you wake up, walk out the front door, and summon your car. It will open the garage door and come to greet you." Summon is also meant to eliminate "the burden of having to squeeze in and out of tight parking spots," the blog said.

 

Significance: Tesla's updates reportedly follow videos posted by Tesla owners on YouTube showing near-misses on the road with the system engaged. With the new Summon feature, Tesla also noted it is in Beta and said, "We would like customers to become familiar with it on private property." Tesla's approach of introducing the software in beta form to customers is much more like that of a computer or personal electronic device, and is only feasible because the pool of Tesla owners is still quite small, compared with the wider driving population. Still, the company is pushing boundaries, and in process, learning more about how fast it is feasible for customers to learn to understand and adapt to autonomous driving features.

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