Tesla owners are starting to receive messages in their cars offering a free 30-day trial of Enhanced Autopilot, with the message “Happy Holidays!” from Tesla.
Owners in Australia and New Zealand have started posting the announcements on social media.
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We don’t yet know if this is a global giveaway or if it only affects certain regions, but we’ll find out soon.
The message reads, “Happy Holidays! A free trial of Enhanced Autopilot has been activated for you to enjoy for 30 days.”
Drivers are then instructed on how to enable the various Autopilot features, which must be done while the car is still parked, before each driver’s unique profile attempts to use the system for the first time.
Autopilot, Tesla’s brand name for its driver assistance system, is standard equipment on all Tesla vehicles.
The basic Autopilot features automatic driving, which keeps the vehicle in its lane on highways, and cruise control , which follows the vehicle in front.
The add-on package known as Enhanced Autopilot expands the capabilities, and over the years, Tesla has periodically offered it as a separate package.
It rebounded in June to its current price of $6,000.
In addition to “Basic Autopilot”, Enhanced Autopilot has the following features:
- Automatic lane change: Helps move to an adjacent lane on the highway when the indicator is activated by the driver.
- Autopilot Navigation (Beta): Actively enhances automatic lane change by providing guidance to the driver for transitioning from highway entrance to exit, including lane change suggestions and navigating junctions.
- Automatic parking: Helps parallel or perpendicularly park your car, with just one touch.
- Summon: Moves your car in and out of a tight space using the mobile phone app.
- Smart Summon: Your car will navigate more complex environments and parking spaces, maneuvering around objects.
The next step up from Enhanced Autopilot is Tesla's "full self-driving capability," which adds the aforementioned features, as well as the ability to start and stop the vehicle at signs and traffic lights. It also provides access to Tesla's "FSD Beta," which integrates Autosteer into city streets.
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As “Level 2” autonomous driving systems, in which the driver is primarily responsible for monitoring the driving environment, all of these features still require active driver involvement.
As a result, they are not yet “fully self-driving,” despite Tesla’s claims that FSD vehicles will eventually be able to drive themselves without the assistance of a driver.
If you own a Tesla, you can “try out” FSD by purchasing a subscription for $199 per month. It’s worth noting that Tesla’s Enhanced Autopilot only has a one-time purchase option.
However, the timing of this trial is a bit tricky. Given that Tesla unexpectedly removed ultrasonic from new vehicles in October, claiming that Tesla’s all-vision detection system was unnecessary. As a result, new Tesla customers are receiving cars without them.
As a result, Autopark, Summon, and Smart Summon are all disabled on these brand-new cars until Tesla upgrades its software to use vision sensors instead of the ultrasonic ones it previously used.
If Tesla doesn’t release a vision update within the next 30 days, the new cars won’t be able to use three of the five Enhanced Autopilot features during this trial period.
Source: electrek.co
