Tesla's 'Advanced Summon' Feature Gets Regulatory Approval

author: Manish Kharinta   

Electric automaker Tesla enjoyed one of its most profitable years in 2018 and industry analysts forecast that the company will continue to be a force of nature this year. Tesla has several new models lined up to join its portfolio, including the Model Y crossover, and will be introducing a plethora of new features in its current offerings. 

Tesla CEO, Elon Musk recently tweeted and confirmed that the highly anticipated software upgrade for Tesla's summon feature has received approval from U.S. regulators.

Musk calls the feature "Advanced Summon" and it has been designed to offer Tesla drivers remote operational control of the vehicles. Drivers will be able to use this feature with its new capabilities with the help of the Tesla mobile app. Musk also announced that the feature is "almost ready" for its launch, now that it has received regulatory approval.

The Tesla Model X may soon be able to drive itself to it's owner's location.

Musk went on to disclose via Twitter that the advanced summon feature experienced "some regulatory pushback" and therefore the company might not make it available in all regions. As of yet, there has been no official description about the capabilities and limitations of the Advance Summon feature, but two utilities in particular, which were revealed by Elon Musk in tweets, might get a closer look from regulators.

The first feature teased by Musk would allow the vehicle to follow its driver like a pet, while the other feature allows the driver to take remote control of the vehicle's operations. 

The second feature sounds like something out of a Bond film, in which Tesla owners can take control of the vehicle like one would of a remote control car as long as the vehicle comes with the prerequisite hardware. A feature to allow the vehicle to track the location of its owner's phone and drive itself to their location will also be part of the package.

Before this feature is introduced, the automaker would have to release a much bigger and improved trained neural network. Tesla will be launching the Hardware 3 upgrade later this year, since current Tesla vehicles do not have the hardware to support the Advanced Summon feature's new neural network. 

After Tesla vehicles get the Hardware 3 upgrades, the vehicles will be capable of reading signs around parking lots and finding open parking spots. With regulator approval and the scheduled launch of Tesla's Hardware 3, the Advanced Summon feature might hit the roads very soon.

Manish Kharinta

Manish Kharinta is a automotive writer based in the Los Angeles area. He has worked for automotive industry websites TheSmokingClutch.com, CarDekho.com and CarBikeindia.com. His experience ranges from covering auto shows, to car reviews and breaking automotive news. Manish aims to bring forth his unique perspective on automotive design and technological innovations in the automotive industry.