Elon Musk announced that Tesla will finally reintroduce Smart Summon and Autopark to its vehicles. According to the CEO, these features are scheduled for release in April. Tesla removed ultrasonic sensors (USS) from their vehicles in 2022, and with it removed several features, including Autopark, Smart Summon and Park Assist. However, since then, they’ve added High Fidelity Park Assist, a feature that recreates the surrounding environment in 3D. Although, it’s currently only available to vehicles without USS, that’s expected to change in the near future, and could also come bundled in with the new Autopark feature.
This update in April is not only expected bring these features back to vehicles without ultrasonic sensors, but Tesla is also expected to release drastically improved versions of these features, known as Actually Smart Summon and Tap to Park.
Major improvements coming for Summon & Banish (Autopark) next month - Elon Musk
Improved Autopark
Greentheonly, who regularly decompiles Tesla firmware, has indicated that Tesla's latest software, version 2024.8, already contains the code necessary for these new features, but they need to be remotely activated by Tesla. Additionally, Green says the new Autopark system will offer users the choice between parallel and perpendicular parking options. The new Autopark is expected to let drivers visually select a parking spot, exit the vehicle, and let it park itself.
New ‘Tap to Park’ Feature
With the introduction of High Fidelity Park Assist, Tesla laid the groundwork for more sophisticated features like "Tap to Park."
Tap to Park builds on the original concept of Park Seek, a feature discussed by Tesla in October 2022 that aimed to automate the parking spot search process. While the initial vision for Park Seek suggested a vehicle could autonomously search for parking, "Tap to Park" simplifies this idea.
With the deployment of FSD Beta v12.3 going to more users this weekend, the company continues to leverage AI to reduce code in favor of neural networks trained with real-world driving data.
Just last week, Musk posted on X: "Really cool stuff coming both this month and next." Since that post, FSD beta version 12.3 has started going to more users, and now it seems two other long overdue and highly anticipated updates are coming with Actually Smart Summon and Tap to Park. Still no word on auto wiper improvements.
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Tesla has started offering Enhanced Autopilot (EAP) in China via a subscription starting at 699 yuan per month — equivalent to about $98.5 USD. It’s the first time Tesla owners in the country will have access to features such as auto lane change, Autopark, Smart Summon, and others.
It’s not clear whether Tesla will begin to offer EAP as a subscription in other regions as well.
The move is seen as the first step towards the expansion of Tesla’s full self driving to China as other markets outside North America wait for the arrival of the FSD software. Yesterday, Tesla chief executive Elon Musk said the version 12 is “ready for supervised FSD in LHD countries” while RHD countries such as Australia, UK or Japan “will take a bit longer”.
FSD in China
China giant Baidu announced last Monday that it will provide all Tesla vehicles in China its latest version of Baidu Maps starting in May.
This week, Tesla celebrated its 10th anniversary in the Chinese Market where it has a total of 1.7 million owners — Tesla’s second largest market. Elon Musk recently tweeted that Tesla may soon offer full self-driving in China by saying “It may be possible very soon”.
FSD in Europe
On Friday, the Senior Advisor of the Swedish Transport Transportation, Rikard Fredriksson, shared on LinkedIn that he had been demoed the FSD technology in Germany with a Tesla employee. The moment marks the first official use of the assisted driving software in Europe.
Impressive smooth and natural driving
LinkedIn Post by Rikard Fredriksson after the FSD Demo in Germany
In the recent earnings call, Elon Musk said Tesla has over 300 million miles that has been driven with FSD v12 since it was launched just last month. He added that it's becoming “very clear that the vision-based approach with end-to-end neural networks is the right solution for scalable autonomy”.
Tesla said it has been investing in the hardware and software ecosystems necessary to achieve vehicle autonomy and a ride-hailing service. The company is confident that it can establish a scalable and profitable autonomous driving business by employing a vision-only architecture.
Tesla has recently reduced the pricing of its “Full Self-Driving” software in the US, from $12,000 to $8,000, and in Canada from CA$16,000 to $11,000. This price reduction follows a 50% cut in the subscription fee announced earlier this month.
Electric vehicle maker Rivian Automotive has announced that it will open up its Rivian Adventure Network (RAN) chargers to Teslas and other EVs later this year.
The Rivian Adventure Network is a comprehensive network of fast-charging sites very similar to Tesla’s own Superchargers. According to Rivian, the Rivian Adventure Network is powered by 100% renewable energy.
New Rivian Chargers
In a post on X, Rivian added that it would introduce new chargers with a tap-to-pay experience to support “a wide range of EVs across a variety of battery voltages.”
Expanding RAN chargers and introducing new tap-to-pay chargers is a clear indication that Rivian is trying to increase customer convenience while ratcheting up its brand value.
All Rivian vehicles and most other EVs still use the CCS connector until they transition to NACS in the next few years. These new chargers will likely include a combination of NACS and CCS connectors to support Rivian’s current and future vehicles that will come equipped with an NACS port.
Charging a Tesla at a Rivian Charge
With over 50,000 Supercharger stalls, Tesla operates the biggest fast-charging network in the world. And 25,000 of these are located in the United States alone. The simplicity of charging at a Supercharger is part of the appeal. Tesla takes care of everything from initiating charging to billing. It ends up being no different than charging at home.
Tesla’s Supercharger network has a stellar reputation, mostly due to its high charging speed and reliability, which Tesla closely monitors in real-time. Major electric vehicle makers will start switching to NACS in the next few years and considering that the Supercharger network is highly trusted, one can see more non-Tesla EVs lining up at Superchargers soon. Giving Tesla owners more choice of where to charge may be crucial to combat congestion.
Rivian currently has over 400 charging stalls across 22 states but plans to expand to more than 600 chargers.
Making Rivian Chargers Just as Simple
While Rivian plans to add a tap-to-pay terminal to its new chargers, it’ll be difficult to beat the convenience of Superchargers for Tesla owners. After Rivian opens up its chargers to other EVs, Tesla owners would need to buy and use CCS to NACS adapters to charge at these networks, although not every Tesla supports the adapter. You can check if your vehicle supports the Tesla adapter.
To simplify the process for Tesla owners, Tesla would also need to interface with Rivian’s chargers to make billing as seamless as it is on its own Supercharger network.
Rivians Charging at Superchargers
Rivian has already begun shipping its customers NACS-to-CCS adapters to charge their vehicles at Tesla Supercharger.
Rivian officially got access to Tesla’s Supercharger network in March 2024. For now, only two companies–Ford and Rivian–have received access to charge at more than 15,000 Tesla Supercharger stalls. More companies like GM, Polestar, and Volvo will get access the following spring.
But Rivian is not stopping at NACS-to-CCS connectors. The Tesla rival plans to switch completely to the NACS port in 2025, at which point they’ll provide their owners a CCS to NACS adapter.
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