Telsa Motors to introduce new self-driving features Thursday

October 14, 2015

 

Tesla Model S (credit: Tesla)

Tesla Motors will introduce on Thursday (October 15, 2015) an advanced “beta test” set of autonomous driving features, The Wall Street Journal reports.

The software will allow hands- and feet-free driving in everything from stop-and-go traffic to highway speeds, and enables a car to park itself, the journal says. It will be available for 50,000 newer Model S cars world-wide via software download.

However, staying within licensing regulations, the software (at least the current version) requires the driver to grab the steering wheel every 10 seconds or so to avoid having the vehicle slow.

“Over time, long term, you won’t have to keep your hands on the wheel — we explicitly describe this as beta,” said Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk at a press event. Notably, unlike other car makers, Tesla Motors is pushing the new features via an over-the-air software update.