Tesla Autopilot software update to bring more autonomous functions

TESLA has flagged another big overhaul of the software used to control its cars is coming, but this time it has included physical tweaks to the car’s hardware as part of the update.

The “HW2” update, officially known as version 8.1, will take advantage of the self-driving hardware built into lnewer versions of Tesla’s cars – the Model S lift-back and the Model S seven-seat SUV – made since October last year that will introduce even more self-drive functions as part of its experimental Enhanced Autopilot system.

It has initially rolled out to 1000 vehicles in the US, which will test the software in the real world before the Californian electric carmaker makes a decision later this week on whether to deploy it globally. In the past Tesla’s global software roll-outs have made their way into Australian cars soon after their global release, and have contained the same updates as the US cars.

Tesla Australia said the free update had started rolling out to cars here yesterday.

The new software will also add a performance upgrade "Easter egg" to the most powerful versions of the Tesla cars, the P100D, that will shave another 0.1 seconds off its 0-60mph time. That should translate to a 2.6sec sprint for the Model S from 0-100km/h by the time it translates to Australian conditions.

The HW2 update – it marks the second generation of the carmaker’s driver-assist technology that Tesla claims is smart enough to eventually allow the vehicle to drive itself – will need a visit to Tesla’s service technicians to adjust the cars’ camera pitch angles to work properly.

Changes to functionality include a smarter “summon” feature that can allow the Tesla to drive itself down a curved section of road when the driver calls for it via a smartphone app, and an automatic lane change function that moves around slower traffic instead of just slowing down to sit behind it. There's also a beta "test" version of active cruise control, forward collision warning, and low-speed Autosteer.

The version 8.1 software update follows closely on the release of version 8.0 that introduced a redesigned interface for the large multimedia screen that covers most of the centre of the dashboard, as well as tweaks to the car’s Autopilot system to rely less on cameras to watch the road ahead, and instead use radar.

The update also comes in the wake of a government inquiry into Tesla’s “Autopilot” self-driving function in cars. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) last week cleared the carmaker’s self-driving function of contributing to the mid-2016 death of a driver who was using the experimental autonomous mode outside of its comfort zone.

The US road safety watchdog also separately reported that Tesla recorded a 40 percent fall in crashes after an update to a previous version of its Autopilot software that rolled out “Autosteer”, a function introduced to Tesla's older cars that helps the driver keep the car inside its lane while cornering.