A row of new Tesla Superchargers are seen outside of the Tesla Factory on August 16, 2013 in Fremont, California. Tesla Motors opened a new Supercharger station with four stalls for public use at their factory in Fremont, California (Photo : Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
Tesla is now rolling out more features with the new Autopilot update for their customers. The automotive company is also extending their free Supercharging promo for new customers in the next two weeks.
One thousand customers were lucky as Tesla CEO Elon Musk activated a new set of Autopilot features. The update was called the Autopilot Hardware 2 or HW 2 for short. It was available for Tesla Model S and Model X which both have more advanced sensors, cameras and such compared to the company's other offerings.
Tesla's limited release of the Autopilot HW 2 is to test and find bugs before a public rollout, USA Today reported. The update itself was rolled out on New Year's Eve for the lucky customers. Tesla will release the update for the broader public but they will have to verify that there are no glitches or bugs that may potentially endanger the lives of the drivers or passengers.
The new Autopilot features still do not make the Tesla Model S or Model X cars fully autonomous. In fact, the update includes warnings that drivers still need to be vigilant even while using the features. New Autopilot features include the Forward Collision Warning that allows drivers to set the distance when the car will alert them if a collision course is detected. Low-Speed Autosteer is also included and it allows the car to drive inside a lane using the lane markings although it does not guarantee a fully autonomous experience.
Tesla's extended free Supercharging period applies to customers who will buy a Model S or Model X before Jan. 15, CNET reported. They would not need to pay for Supercharging their cars for a lifetime which is a huge cost-saver in the first place. Those who order later will still be able to grab the annual 400 kWh free charge.
No release date has been set for the public release of the Autopilot HW 2 update. The free Supercharging promo will last until Jan 15.
Watch how the Tesla car avoids a car crash in the video below:
