Elon Musk Promotes New 'Tap to Park' Tesla Feature, Shoots Down 360º View

December 11, 2023

By Kevin Armstrong

Tesla appears closer to releasing an improved Auto Park feature

Tesla

If you’ve been out Christmas shopping, Tesla’s long-awaited Park Seek may have been on your mind. For more than a year, the company has been talking about this technology that would take over the job of not only parking, but finding a parking spot. Elon Musk has brought the long-anticipated feature back into the spotlight.

What is "Tap to Park"?

Now referred to as Tap to Park, Park Seek, also once known as Reverse Summon, is an innovative feature that Tesla officials discussed at AI Day in October of 2022. At that point, Tesla said this feature should be ready by the end of the year.

That didn’t happen, and now it sounds like there have been some changes to the original idea, given Musk’s post on X.

We are working on a feature where the car identifies probable viable parking spaces. You tap on one, exit the vehicle and it parks there.

The Evolution from Autopark to "Tap to Park"

Tesla's current Autopark feature, currently only available in vehicles equipped with Ultrasonic Sensors (USS), has been a stepping stone toward autonomous parking. However, its limitations include the lack of multiple parking spot selections and drivers' need to stay in the car. Tesla users noted these constraints, indicating a need for an upgrade. The current implementation of Autopark is also slow to park and requires driving extremely slowly to get the park symbol to show up on the vehicle’s display.

Earlier this year, Tesla introduced vision-based Park Assist, a system that utilizes camera-based tech to estimate distances between the car and nearby objects while parking. This development marked a transition away from USS and laid the groundwork for more advanced features like "Tap to Park."

Is “Tap to Park” a Replacement for Park Seek?

Park Seek has been previously touted by Musk as a revolutionary feature that will let you stop the vehicle in front of a store, get out, and let the vehicle go hunt for a parking spot itself. There were even leaks that mentioned owners’ would have three parking spot options when using Park Seek. However, this new ‘Tap to Park,’ appears to be a slightly watered-down version of the original vision, that removes the ability for the vehicle to travel autonomously around the parking lot looking for a spot.

The recent deployment of FSD version 12 to Tesla employees is a significant milestone. This version improves by reducing reliance on human-written code and increasing the system's dependence on neural networks trained with real-world driving footage. Such advancements are crucial for successfully implementing "Tap to Park."

It’s possible that “Tap to Park,” is a transitioning step toward the original Park Seek vision. Park Seek has the ability to significantly change urban environments and high-density areas where parking is often challenging.

Although ‘Tap to Park’ is not expected to be a part of Tesla’s 2023 Holiday Update, a new High Fidelity Park Assist is expected to arrive as part of the holiday special this week.

It is interesting to note the timing of this Musk hint on X. Tesla enthusiast Sawyer Merritt posted about the need for 360º views. Still, Whole Mars Catalogue called the feature “irrelevant” in a world with cars that drive themselves. This comes from a Holiday Update that didn’t meet expectations. Perhaps there is another update under the tree? Or, it may be another year away. Insert your two-week joke here.

Tesla Is Now Offering Cybertruck Test Drives [List of Locations]

July 26, 2024

By Karan Singh

@brandonhd

Tesla has begun to reach out to customers in the United States and is offering demo drives of the Cybertruck on an invite-only basis. @brandonhd on X shared the first invite image, and it looks like it's going out quite quickly to multiple locations that have Cybertrucks on display.

Up until now, display vehicles have been for just that – looking, but no touching. Some Tesla delivery centers and showrooms have also allowed viewers to take a seat inside and open it up, but most are still locked away behind the velvet rope.

It’s exciting to see that Tesla has begun to demo them – and it can only be so long until demo drives open up to everyone.

Advisor-led Demo

This Demo Drive is led by a Tesla Advisor – while you’re driving, the advisor will be in the passenger seat, walking you through the experience. They’ll explain steer-by-wire, off-road controls, and will introduce new-to-Tesla buyers to all the features that are currently available.

Once FSD V12.5 comes to the Cybertruck, we’re sure they’ll be demoing its capabilities FSD capabilities as well.

Locations

The list of locations so far for demo drives appears to be fairly limited, but we will hopefully see demo drives roll out throughout the United States, and eventually Canada too. Here is the current list of city/state locations that have seen demo drive invites.

Manhasset, New York
West Covina, California
Los Angeles, California
Houston, Texas
Orlando, Florida
Westmont, Illinois
Tucson, Arizona
Phoenix, Arizona
Delaware

Musk Confirms 'Actually Smart Summon' is Coming in a Revision of FSD V12.5

July 26, 2024

By Karan Singh

Not a Tesla App

Actually Smart Summon, the successor to Tesla’s Smart Summon feature, has been confirmed to be coming as soon as next month as per Elon Musk. Colloquially known as “ASS”, Actually Smart Summon is supposed to improve on the regular Smart Summon capabilities, which have historically used ultrasonic sensors (USS) to navigate parking lots.

We’re looking forward to Actually Smart Summon, and we’re quite excited about what other features will be unlocked once it finally shows up at our doorstep.

Vision-based Improvements

ASS is supposed to bring Smart Summon to vehicles that don’t have USS – using Tesla Vision. Most recently, Tesla has brought Autopark to vehicles without USS, and Vision-based Autopark has been a huge success. It is faster, more reliable, and smoother than the older USS-based solution. It can also park and maneuver in tighter locations.

Just recently, Tesla returned the Model X’s self-presenting doors, using Tesla Vision. Vision has seen some fantastic improvements, and many people are waiting for ASS to bring forth these improvements to Smart Summon.

Smart Summon Today

Today, Smart Summon is sometimes useful at best, usually a party trick, or downright dangerous at worst. It’s excellent and best used in straight lines, where you have a clear line of sight of the vehicle, and can stop it if doesn’t see an obstacle.

I used Smart Summon today, just before writing this article – my 2022 Model Y (with USS) – did manage to show up just fine – in a straight-line location from where I was parked, after exiting the parking spot fairly cleanly. However, I’ve previously used Smart Summon and have had the vehicle turn towards obstacles, such as cart returns or curbs. Overall, it’s a sometimes-useful feature that has a lot of drawbacks right now.

Smart Summon is also restricted to a certain distance – and it's pretty small. The max distance is shorter than most parking lots, being only about 215 ft (65m). If you’re lucky enough to park close, it's very useful to bring your car right to you.

Actually Smart Summon

ASS will bring FSD V12-like capabilities to Smart Summon – the vehicle will primarily use Vision to drive toward you (or the location you’ve indicated). ASS has been supposed to be coming since about September 2022 and has seen many delays – we’re almost at the 2-year point today.

We’re looking forward to Actually Smart Summon being able to bring the vehicle – safely – right to you. ASS is also one of the key steps towards bringing some other cool features that Elon Musk has previously mentioned – Park Seek and Banish Autopark.

We’re also hopeful that Actually Smart Summon will increase the maximum range a vehicle can be summoned, because the current range is fairly small. Alongside Park Seek and Banish Autopark, we’re closing in on a Robotaxi-based future.

Park Seek and Banish Autopark

When the FSD v12.4 showed up, Elon also mentioned that going forward, vehicles would automatically park themselves when arriving in a parking lot – Park Seek – and that if you got out of the car at the entrance to a business, you could get it to automatically park itself in the parking lot – Banish Autopark. These are two features that are needed for Robotaxi to work – which itself is delayed to October 10^th of this year. We’re looking quite forward to them – as in combination with Actually Smart Summon, Tesla has reached the cusp of vehicle autonomy.

A vehicle that arrives, driverless, at the location you’re at, then drives somewhere, parks itself there, and waits for you – is the definition of a Robotaxi.

While we’re likely to have to wait for Banish Autopark and Park Seek just a bit longer, Actually Smart Summon being around the corner is exciting! Gone will be the days of having to run out to your car when you forgot your umbrella – your car will just come right to you instead.