Tesla announces ‘most advanced Autopilot’ yet

Revealed as part of sweeping software updates for the brand’s range of electric cars, Navigate on Autopilot syncs the car’s Autopilot suite of driver aids with its navigation system.

As Tesla puts it, “Navigate on Autopilot is an active guidance feature that, with driver supervision, guides a car from a highway’s on-ramp to off-ramp, including suggesting lane changes, navigating highway interchanges and taking exits”.

“It’s designed to make finding and following the most efficient path to your destination even easier on the highway when Autopilot is in use,” Tesla says.

When engaged, the system knows which lanes the car should use as part of its journey. Lane changes are suggested by the car, but must be confirmed by the driver using the indicator stalk. 

Previously, a Tesla on autopilot would remain in a lane selected by the driver, changing lanes only when directed.

The manufacturer says Navigate on Autopilot will start running in models such as the Model S in “a dormant logging-only mode which lets us validate the performance of the feature in the background based on millions of miles of real-world driving”.

“Once validation is complete, we will introduce Navigate on Autopilot as a beta feature to customers in the US,” it says.

“Navigate on Autopilot will be introduced in other markets in the future pending validation and regulatory approval.”

Other changes include more detailed directions for regular drivers listening to sat nav, a range of Atari games presented as hidden “Easter eggs”, and the ability to recall video data from onboard cameras in a similar arrangement to commercial dash cams.

A new “obstacle aware acceleration” feature attempts to reduce the likelihood of minor collisions by reducing the car’s acceleration performance when obstacles are close by.

Tesla's Autopilot suite represents one of the most advanced driver assistance systems on the road. Pitched as a way to reduce the road toll by Tesla boss Elon Musk, the controversial technology has been linked to fatal accidents in the US and China.