Tesla CEO Elon Musk revealed on the Third Row Tesla podcast earlier this year that the company is working on a “significant foundational re-write” of its Autopilot software.
Since then, there hasn’t been much news about the new Autopilot software, but Musk last night revealed how the re-write is progressing, and when it might be released.
Going well. Team is kicking ass & it’s an honor to work with them. Pretty much everything had to be rewritten, including our labeling software, so that it’s fundamentally “3D” at every step from training through inference.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 2, 2020
As always, Musk has nothing but high praise for his team working on the project. He also reveals the extent of the re-write, explaining that it so extensive that it covers everything down to how the computer labels what it sees, which is a lot.
As a reminder, this is how much your Tesla cameras see as it drives down a road. With the re-write, the labelling of data will happen exponentially quicker than it does currently.
A lot of functionality will happen all at once when we transition to the new software stack. Most likely, it will be releasable in 2 to 4 months. Then it’s a question of what functionality is proven safe enough to enable for owners.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 2, 2020
If you don’t know, ‘Reverse Summon’ is the opposite of the current Summon feature, which comes to you from a parking spot. With ‘Reverse Summon’, your car would drop you off and then drive off by itself to find a parking spot.
The timeline given by Musk of 2-4 months is exciting, but should also be taken with a grain of salt, as he is often optimistic with his dates for expected releases.
