In addition to Tesla's over-the-air software update to address range anxiety, Elon Musk finally offered up more details on its AutoPilot program, including its test route, where Tesla has almost completed a trek from San Francisco to Seattle hands-free.
Version 7 of the Model S software is due to hit later this year and with it will come an overhaul of the aging user interface and two new features that Musk promised last year.
Musk says that the company is making progress on auto-steering, where the car keeps track of the lines on the road and doesn't let it veer out of the lane. The test route Tesla is using is between San Francisco and Seattle and Musk says it's "almost able to go [between the two locations] without touching the controls at all."
Musk clarified that it's technically possible to go from "parking lot to parking lot," but instead insists that the system is mainly to be used for freeway cruising, combining the sensors that scan the road for obstacles – basically adaptive cruise control – to keep it going for those boring runs down the freeway.
Musk is also promising an ability to summon your car. Basically press a button on the Tesla smartphone app, the car will come to your front door, and when you return, it will park itself.
Musk also says the next update will include a series of smaller enhancements that build off of emergency braking, blind spot warning, and others, as well as a valet mode to limit speed, torque and personal information.
Contact the author at damon@jalopnik.com.
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