Tesla Motors Inc. is pushing through new software that will add
half a dozen new safety and convenience features, and the company
has teased that its vehicles will adopt autonomous driving features
in about three months.
Chief among the changes in the update, which will be downloaded
to existing Model S vehicles via the Internet, is a system that
will track the vehicle's location in connection to Superchargers
and which will tell the driver when it is moving out of range. The
system can analyze with great accuracy the route the person is
driving and guarantee arrival at a Supercharger before the range
ends, Chief Executive Elon Musk said. Mr. Musk earlier this week
said the change would "end range anxiety," setting off speculation
about what changes were coming.
"You don't need to think ahead or do any calculations. It makes
it almost impossible to run out unless you do it intentionally,"
Mr. Musk said on a call with reporters and analysts.
In addition, cars built since October that have the correct
sensors installed will be able to perform automatic braking. Tesla
also has programmed a new top speed of 155 mph in one of its
versions and a "valet" mode that lowers the torque available and
protects personal information stored in the vehicle.
In three months when the next software update comes out, those
same cars will be able to drive themselves on highways, making them
the most advanced autonomous vehicles on the road, Mr. Musk
said.
"We really designed the Model S to be a very sophisticated
computer on wheels. Tesla is very much a software company as much
as a hardware company," Mr. Musk said in the call. "We view it in
the same way as updating your phone or your laptop. Just as people
assume your phone will update frequently. It is a fundamental
paradigm shift from the way that cars have been done in the
past."
Mark Wakefield, a partner at management consulting firm
AlixPartners LLP, said Tesla is well ahead of the rest of the
automotive industry. Its willingness to take risks has given it a
jump on competitors.
"They are certainly more gutsy," he said.
Write to Mike Ramsey at michael.ramsey@wsj.com
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