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First look at Tesla’s ‘more confident’ Smart Summon feature ahead of V10 release

Tesla Model 3 demonstrating latest version of Smart Summon. | Image: ALL Electric/YouTube

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The fourth iteration of Tesla’s Smart Summon feature has begun rolling out to Early Access Program participants, demonstrating the continued development of capabilities that allow drivers to operate their all-electric cars through the Tesla mobile app, specifically by having them autonomously travel to their location. As seen in a recent video demonstrating the program (previously ‘Enhanced Summon’) in action, some notable improvements have been made over the last release, particularly in vehicle confidence and movement execution.

Utilizing the latest version of Smart Summon, a deep blue metallic Model 3 is seen navigating from various parking spaces to selected point locations in a demo posted by YouTube channel, ALL Electric. When exiting each parking spot, the all-electric vehicle seems confident while reversing, and there seems to be an increase in the car’s speed as it executes the Summon command over the prior versions. Another particularly interesting part of the demonstration was the vehicle’s response to the transition from asphalt to brick in its driving path, something which caused the feature to pause and assess the locations of the actual curbs vs. the perceived curbs based on color variations.

Smart Summon’s primary appeal to customers is geared towards parking lot navigation. CEO Elon Musk has ambitious plans for the feature, and has previously stated that a Tesla “should be able to drive around a parking lot, find an empty spot, read signs to confirm it’s valid & park.” However, although a wide release of Smart Summon is coming with Tesla’s upcoming Version 10 firmware update, self-parking looks to still be a ways off yet. This is not surprising given Musk’s previous explanations of the feature’s fine-tuning challenges that are still underway as seen in ALL Electric‘s demo.

“Yeah, we’ve been working on curbs a *lot*. Concrete seams too. So glamorous,” Musk tweeted in response to an update request for the newest Summon at the end of June. When asked what the most difficult part about concrete was, Musk replied, “Excessive shades of grey.” The CEO also jokingly noted that curbs with high contrast were his ‘favorite’. The latest update to Smart Summon demonstrated this particular challenge where the parking lot composition changed, although it was able to determine its drivability after a pause for assessment.

Along with parking lot mobility, Smart Summon already allows Tesla owners with early access to “walk” their cars like a pet by holding down the Summon button on the Tesla app. Musk also promised eventual remote control car capability as well. “Also, you’ll be able to drive it from your phone remotely like a big RC car if in line of sight,” he tweeted in November last year.

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Tesla’s V10 firmware, which will also include improvements to Autopilot and WiFi streaming of Netflix and YouTube videos, is estimated to be released later this month. After the company’s Early Access Program results are assessed and addressed, a wide release of the new firmware will follow. “Depends on how release to owners with early access goes, but hopefully wide release by end of August,” Musk replied on Twitter to a question about V10’s availability at the end of last month.

Despite the full promise of the Smart Summon feature yet to be realized, its overall functionality is a remarkable improvement over the current Summon feature which only allows straight-line driving for a maximum of 150 feet.

Watch the latest Enhanced Summon demonstration video below:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ebii6acduRY

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Accidental computer geek, fascinated by most history and the multiplanetary future on its way. Quite keen on the democratization of space. | It's pronounced day-sha, but I answer to almost any variation thereof.

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Elon Musk

Elon Musk just dropped a huge detail on the Tesla Roadster

“Whether it’s good or bad, it will be unforgettable. My friend Peter Thiel once reflected that the future was supposed to have flying cars, but we don’t have flying cars. I think if Peter wants a flying car, he should be able to buy one.”

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tesla roadster
Credit: Tesla

Elon Musk dropped a huge detail on the Tesla Roadster on his latest appearance on the Joe Rogan Experience podcast.

Tesla has been teasing the Roadster for years. The company has constantly delayed the vehicle, hoping to push its limits past anything that is even imaginable by the human mind.

Earlier this year, the company said it would put on a “most epic demo” for the Roadster, displaying and unveiling all its capabilities, some new, some previously talked about. However, nobody really knows what to expect.

On the JRE Podcast, Musk joined Rogan for an over three-hour conversation about a variety of topics, but Tesla was something that was evidently on the agenda.

One of the parts of the Tesla conversation that is getting a lot of attention is Musk’s new teasing of the Roadster, saying it has “crazy technology” that might not even qualify as an automobile in the classic sense.

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Musk confirmed that Tesla is “getting close to demonstrating the prototype,” and said he can guarantee the demo “will be unforgettable.”

He continued:

“Whether it’s good or bad, it will be unforgettable. My friend Peter Thiel once reflected that the future was supposed to have flying cars, but we don’t have flying cars. I think if Peter wants a flying car, he should be able to buy one.”

Musk went on to say, with a smile, that Joe would have to “wait and see” what Tesla had come up with.

He went on:

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“I think it has a shot at being the most memorable product unveil ever. [It will be unveiled] hopefully before the end of the year. You know, we need to make sure that it works. This is some crazy technology in this car. Let’s just put it this way: if you took all the James Bond cars and combined them, it’s crazier than that.”

Tesla has said for years that the Roadster would be able to at least hover, thanks to a SpaceX package that would feature cold gas thrusters that would help the vehicle get in the air.

The new Tesla Roadster will be able to fly: Elon Musk

Musk seemed very confident in his answers and very excited to show off what the Tesla Roadster is capable of. The real question is: how long will it take Tesla to get the car to market after the launch and unveiling? How many units will it manufacture? How much will it cost?

All of those things are details we will have to wait for Tesla to reveal at the Roadster event.

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Tesla targets gas car owners with this crazy new promotion

Tesla is now offering 2,000 free Supercharging miles to any gas car owner who chooses to trade their car in on a Tesla. The promotion requires a gas or hybrid electric vehicle to be turned in for any of the vehicles in Tesla’s lineup.

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Credit: Tesla

Tesla is targeting gas car owners with a crazy new promotion launched on October 31, its latest move to boost sales amidst the loss of the $7,500 electric vehicle tax credit, which went away on September 30.

Tesla is now offering 2,000 free Supercharging miles to any gas car owner who chooses to trade their car in on a Tesla. The promotion requires a gas or hybrid electric vehicle to be turned in for any of the vehicles in Tesla’s lineup.

If you do that, you get 2,000 free miles of Supercharging, which can be utilized at any of the chargers on the Tesla network within the next two years:

Supercharging is rarely a Tesla owner’s primary source of charging, but for some owners, it is critical to their ownership experience.

While many homeowners or apartment dwellers are able to utilize charging infrastructure they either installed themselves or were provided by their property management company, others are totally reliant on the wide variety of charging options that are available today.

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Tesla’s Supercharging Network has expanded rapidly over the past few years, mostly in preparation for the company to open it to other EV manufacturers, most of which have adopted the company’s North American Charging Standard (NACS) in the United States.

Its latest quarterly earnings Shareholder Deck revealed a 16 percent increase in stations in Q3 compared to the same timeframe in 2024. Meanwhile, connectors have increased by 18 percent in the same timeframe. There are over 73,800 connectors in the Tesla Supercharger Network globally.

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The move could be looked at as a way to incentivize people to switch to electric vehicles, and it is something we have seen Tesla experiment with over the past month.

It has played with leasing terms, and we will likely see more incentive offers, like this Supercharging one or even Full Self-Driving trials for those who choose to make the switch over the next two months.

Tesla routinely offers some tasty deals in Q4 as it aims to round out the year with a strong delivery and production report for investors. Q4 is statistically Tesla’s strongest three-month period in any given year. However, Q3 was Tesla’s strongest performance in terms of vehicle deliveries in company history, as it narrowly missed the elusive 500,000 mark for a quarter.

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Tesla Cybercab sighting highlights big change since 2024 unveiling

Based on an image recently taken of the vehicle, it appears that Tesla has made the Cybercab’s cabin easier to get in and out of.

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Credit: @tzmartin/YouTube

A recent sighting of the Tesla Cybercab in the wild has teased a pretty interesting update that has been implemented on the autonomous two-seater. 

Based on an image recently taken of the vehicle, it appears that Tesla has made the Cybercab’s cabin easier to get in and out of. 

Recent Cybercab sightings

As per recent posts on social media, it appears Tesla has started testing the Cybercab on public roads. Images posted by Tesla community members in Palo Alto showed a Cybercab prototype being driven near the company’s engineering headquarters. Interestingly enough, the vehicle was equipped with a steering wheel. 

It’s not just the Cybercab’s steering wheel that caught a lot of attention, however. Based on observations by EV watchers online, it appears that Tesla has also made the Cybercab’s door a bit larger. This should make it easier for passengers to get into and out of the autonomous two-seater. The position of the camera in the B-pillar also appears to have been adjusted slightly. 

All-in on autonomy

While Cybercab prototypes that are seen in the wild today are fitted with a steering wheel, the vehicle will be produced strictly as an autonomous Robotaxi. This was highlighted by Elon Musk during the third-quarter earnings call. Musk also expects about 2 million Cybercabs to be produced every year, making it the company’s highest-volume vehicle. 

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“The single biggest expansion in production will be the Cybercab, which starts production in Q2 next year. That’s really a vehicle that’s optimized for full autonomy. It, in fact, does not have a steering wheel or pedals and is really an enduring optimization on minimizing cost per mile for fully considered cost per mile of operation,” Musk said during the Q3 2025 earnings call. 

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