This Week in Tesla - More Autopilot Improvements Coming Soon, Model S & X Ranges Increased Via Software Update

Model S & X Ranges Increased Via Software Update

Tesla has just started to push a software update for most new 2020 Model S & X cars that increases the displayed range. There are no changes to any of the battery management software nor is it an update to the efficiency and range of the powertrain, but rather it’s just a change to how a car’s range is calculated and displayed on the screen. This update comes after the range of the Model S Long Range was boosted to 390 miles and the Model X Long Range was boosted to 351 miles.

More Autopilot Improvements Coming Soon

According to the above tweet by Tesla CEO Elon Musk, Tesla plans to release even more Autopilot features this month. These features would almost definitely not be part of the standard “Autopilot” system but rather belong to the “Full Self Driving” package. On Tesla’s website, there are a handful of features under the Full Self Driving portion of the options list; however, there are two features listed under the “Coming Later This Year” section:

• Coming later this year:
• Recognize and respond to traffic lights and stop signs
• Automatic driving on city streets

The latest visualization update now shows Tesla drivers that the car can recognize stop signs as well as traffic lights, though the car does not react to them. The update coming this month is likely to allow the cars to respond to traffic lights and stop signs, but not automatic driving on city streets. This is because to being able to react to stop signs and traffic lights is only adding an extra layer onto the current capabilities of the car whereas automatic city street driving adds a lot more complexity to the system and the decisions it has to make.

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