Tesla’ recent software update, which was pushed over-the-air to all compatible models, has brought new features for Autopilot. Unfortunately, automatically exiting a highway is not one of them.
We are referring to the Version 8.0 software update applied by Tesla, which was released by the American automaker as being capable of handling highway “interchanges” in its release notes, while an earlier version of a company blog post said it could even deal with “highway exits.”
You can see that there’s a difference between the two terms, but bullet points presented in the company’s press release (seen in the photo gallery and integrated fully below) made many believe that the update adds the highway exit feature.
To be fair, the 8.1 version of the Tesla software was described as being capable of doing this alone if a destination was set in the navigation, while the 8.0 was claimed it could make the cars exit a highway if the indicator stalk was turned before the intersection.
Just like many other publications, we wrote that Tesla models had received the capacity of leaving highways while driving on Autopilot. Tesla customers happily received the update on their cars, and everyone believed that the system was smarter that in reality.
The owner of a Tesla Model S, which refers to himself as KmanAuto on his YouTube channel, decided to test the system, but he was not impressed at all.The same user has over 15,000 subscribers on his channel, and has gathered over 9.8 million views since he started the KmanAuto channel in 2009.
He often posts reports about his Tesla, as well as reviews for various tech elements. Being an old user of YouTube positively adds credibility, as well as having a vast timeline with videos posted over the years. So this is not an elaborate hoax, or some scheme meant to discredit Tesla.
As you can observe in the video, the Model S does not slow down in time to exit the highway, and the driver is forced to step in and correct the turn and the vehicle’s speed.
When a freeway interchange is met, the system operates without a hitch, as it only has to merge onto another highway while it leaves the one it was using.
As Jalopnik notes, the Tesla Model S or X are not yet capable of exiting a motorway, but they can take care of a freeway interchange. We expect Tesla to update the Autopilot system and its operating software further to a level that will take care of these situations in the future.
Sebastian's love for cars began at a young age. Little did he know that a career would emerge from this passion (and that it would not, sadly, involve being a professional racecar driver). In over fourteen years, he got behind the wheel of several hundred vehicles and in the offices of the most important car publications in his homeland. Full profile
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