A Tesla Model 3 that navigated itself through a crowded parking lot on Enhanced Summon had a real-world encounter with another vehicle. That one had a human driver. Despite the Autopilot feature being successful in its attempt to meander the Model 3 to its remote owner, a big question remains unanswered: Are other humans ready for this?
“He was probably so confused!” a person exclaimed in a video that highlights the spectacle. Owners and enthusiasts in the Tesla community are keenly aware of the recent Autopilot developments being released somewhat frequently by the California-based car maker, but driverless vehicles might come as a bit of a shock for the less informed, as may their unnatural behavior (for now).
The current version of Model 3’s Enhanced Summon seemed to cause some annoyance for the everyday driver, as indicated in the footage. Rather than realizing the driver’s intention to park in the open spot behind the Tesla as a human would have deduced, the software chose to stop its motion altogether after sensing the other vehicle. Also, when finally reaching the owner’s location, the Model 3 stopped in the middle of the traffic corridor of the parking lot.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk has touted the numerous capabilities Enhanced Summon will eventually have on several occasions, meaning the beta version of the software is only a sample of what’s to come. Other owner videos featuring Enhanced Summon in action further show the crawling, overly cautious execution of the Autopilot feature in its current iteration.
Tesla also recently releases no-confirmation Navigate on Autopilot which enables automated lane changes without driver input. The incremental Autopilot updates are part of the company’s push towards the Full Self-Driving Capability that Musk has predicted will be near completion at the end of the year. Tesla will be holding an Autonomy Investor Day on April 22nd at its Palo Alto headquarters promising a demonstration of even more to be released self-driving features.
Watch the full Tesla Model 3 parking lot showdown below:
