Remote updates speed Tesla's Autopilot push

SAN FRANCISCO -- Last fall, when Tesla Motors Inc. started shipping the Model S sedan with a camera built into the back of the rearview mirror, buyers were baffled. The camera didn't seem to do anything.

Its purpose quickly became clear when Tesla later unveiled an automated driving feature called Autopilot and wirelessly beamed the software to its cars over the Internet.

Last week, Tesla CEO Elon Musk signaled that a more capable version of Autopilot will be released this year, bringing Tesla a step closer to a fully self-driving car.

Tesla doesn't have the r&d budget of rivals such as Audi, BMW and Mercedes-Benz. But the Palo Alto, Calif., startup sees its ability to send over-the-air software updates as a crucial edge in the race to self-driving cars because it can quickly roll out technology to vehicles that have already been sold.

"We really designed the Model S to be a very sophisticated computer on wheels," Musk told reporters last week, as the company revealed another update that allows the Model S to communicate in real time with Tesla's proprietary charging stations. "Tesla is as much a software company as a hardware company."

Musk said the Autopilot update would come in Tesla's next software package, Version 7.0, expected to arrive this summer.

The current version of Autopilot works like a sophisticated version of cruise control. Customers can let go of the wheel and pedals at highway speeds while the Model S follows the pace of traffic and stays within lane markings. To change lanes, the driver can simply flick the turn-signal lever; the car checks for an opening and makes the change.

It's not clear what functionality Tesla will add next. Musk said Tesla is using a San Francisco-to-Seattle route to test its technology and has managed to drive most of the way "without the driver touching any controls at all."

But he said the autonomous driving features in Version 7.0 will be restricted to high-speed driving on highways and low-speed driving on private property. That's because Tesla isn't confident that the Model S could drive itself safely at moderate speeds in suburban settings, where a child might chase a ball into the street.

Tesla isn't alone in its strategy of offering over-the-air software updates. Last week, Ford Motor Co. announced that its new Sync 3 infotainment system will update itself over a Wi-Fi connection.

But other automakers have not been willing to go as far as Tesla has mainly because they fear that such updates might expose safety-critical functions to glitches and security breaches.

Don Butler, director of connected vehicles at Ford, said the company may update its instrument clusters and infotainment systems over the Internet, but functions such as steering and the powertrain would fall on the other side of a firewall.

"With certain modules," he said, "we're going to need to be very careful."