Tesla Motors Chief Executive Elon Musk announced on Thursday that the electric car maker will launch a wave of online upgrades for its Model S vehicles.
Mr. Musk said that the company will start delivering software updates to its vehicles over the internet within the next two weeks. The first round of upgrades would be aimed at the “range anxiety” problem, or the fear of running out of battery in the middle of the road, which has been a major concern among existing and potential Tesla owners.
Mr. Musk said that with the update, a driver could never run out of charge unless he wants to. The pack of upgrades will include programs that signal the driver if he is going too far from a charging station and offer information about the cars route, road conditions and similar.
Additionally, the first pack will introduce the “valet” mode, which would limit the maximum speed of the vehicle if it is moving too fast and lock the main touchscreen, preventing it from displaying personal information and keeping the driver focused on the road.
Blind-spot and side-collision warnings will also be implemented in the 6.2 update pack, alongside an emergency breaking system that goes off when the car is about to hit an obstacle.
However, the big update bundle will be 7.0, which is expected to go live in around three months time. The upgrade will include a software that gives the vehicles “auto-steering” features, marking a big step for the electric carmaker in autonomous driving.
The technology would be limited to highways and other major roads for now due to the hardware used in its Model S. Mr. Musk said that “technically” the vehicle will be capable of driving on its own from one parking lot to another, but outlined that it could be dangerous in suburban areas as the reason why Tesla is not releasing the full update.
However, the vehicle would be capable of driving without a person in the car within the limits of a private property.
“We’re pretty excited about the progress we’re making there. The main test route that we’re evaluating is the San Francisco to Seattle route, and we’re now almost able to travel all the way from San Francisco to Seattle without the driver touching any controls at all,” Mr. Musk said.
Tesla dropped 2.52% on Thursday and closed at $195.65 on the NASDAQ, marking a one-year decrease of 17.04%. The company is valued at $24.61 billion.
According to the Financial Times, the 17 analysts offering 12-month price targets for Tesla have a median target of $280.00, with a high estimate of $400.00 and a low estimate of $65.00. The median estimate represents a 43.11% increase from the last closing price.
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