Do you remember all those textbooks we used to have in our elementary schools that continuously mentioned that we will be having automatic or flying cars by 2020? Well, it is 2020, and while we don’t have a flying car yet, we have Tesla Autopilot cars. Thanks to Elon Musk and all of his colleagues and workers at Tesla, we have (drumroll please) automatic cars!
Today we wanted to talk specifically about Tesla Autopilot – it was created in 2016, and it can be found in every new Tesla car; It is a function that allows you to drive a car without driving it yourself.
What Does Autopilot Stand for?
Autopilot is a function in all Tesla cars that allows you to drive “hands-free” – that is, it is a system that has self-driving capabilities. It works through software installed in all Tesla cars, which is being upgraded all the time so the drivers don’t have to worry about their safety. The initial idea of having an Autopilot feature in cars stemmed from the idea of safety: As we know, the number of annual car accidents in the world is extremely high and it happens for multiple reasons. Sometimes it is the driver’s fault because they end up not paying attention to the road, other times it is the faulty machinery, all of which doesn’t really matter when the accident takes place. It is with the Autopilot function that Tesla cars are working on public safety – the software pays attention to the road through many built-in cameras, and the software tells you if something is wrong with your car.
What Does Autopilot do?
It does (almost) everything for you: It steers, brakes, and accelerates on its own, based on its own vision of the road. With the help of many built-in cameras, the autopilot drives you even in narrow passages and roads! What we love about the Autopilot is that it parks for you – yes, you don’t have to worry anymore about parallel parking if you have one of these bad boys. You just need to step out of the car and the car will go around the obstacles and park itself. You just have to tap on your phone in order to call your car, and it will immediately appear in front of you. Crazy, isn’t it?!
Not only does it drive for you, but the software also finds the best (quickest route with no traffic) route for you – gone are the days of driving with the help of GPS! (Raise your hands if you’ve ever got lost following a GPS…) You only have to tell (yes, you read that correctly!) your car the desired destination of yours and the car will automatically get you to it in the least amount of time – if you don’t notify your Tesla about your destination, but you are using a Google Calendar or any other calendar app, your car will connect itself to it, and drive you according to the place booked in your calendar. And just know, all of this is just the beginning; Autopilot is constantly being updated and we can’t wait to see its future!