Last October, Tesla presented an advanced hardware suite for its Auto-pilot semi-autonomous driving program. This hardware will ultimately enable full autonomy, Tesla assures. However in the meanwhile, the technology is being placed on a short brief leash.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk affirmed recently that Autopilot will be presenting to cars geared up with the company’s latest hardware suite, called HW2, by means of over-the-air updates. This brand-new version of Autopilot includes Autosteer functionality that is limited to a top speed of 45 miles per hour. Furthermore, some vehicles geared up with HW2 will require their cameras adjusted at a Tesla service center to allow Autopilot capability.
Autopilot for HW2 rolling out to all HW2 cars today. Please be cautious. Some cars will require adjustment of camera pitch angle by service.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 21, 2017
Auto steer limited to 45 mph on highways for now, i.e. heavy traffic, where it is needed most. Limit will raise as we get more data.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 22, 2017
HW2-equipped cars will now also acquire forward crash warning, and adaptive cruise control, however the latter of those functions is limited to a top speed of 75 miles per hour. Previously, HW2 Teslas did not provide adaptive cruise control.
This software update brings HW2 Teslas better to parity with their predecessors, i.e., vehicles constructed from September of 2014 to mid-October 2016. However the latest automobiles are still missing some essential features provided on earlier models, like autonomous emergency braking. Once again, this new, more-advanced hardware is assured to allow full autonomy at some point, however the software application isn’t yet all set for public usage, according to Tesla.
Indeed, this puts folks with the latest Teslas to roll off the assembly line at a features drawback compared to those with models acquired over a year ago. That’s a confusing situation for any purchase, but specifically when it pertains to vehicles that command over $70,000.
Musk states Tesla will ultimately raise the speed limits on Autosteer and adaptive cruise control in HW2-equipped vehicles, however it needs to gather more user data first. That indicates it could be a long time before Teslas developed after October 20th, 2016 reach parity with Autopilot-equipped Teslas developed prior.
