Tesla CEO Elon Musk has been teasing a foundational re-write of the company’s signature Autopilot driver-assist feature for some time now.
In August, Musk said the release of the new software would be coming in 6-10 weeks, putting the release in mid-September to early October.
The CEO has now updated the timeline again to clarify the first release is still on track and set to be released in 2-4 weeks, but it will strictly be for private beta testers only.
Releasing private beta in 2 to 4 weeks, public beta (early access owners who opt in) 4 to 6 weeks after that, then all US Tesla owners mid December. Above schedule is contingent upon not encountering major unexpected setbacks.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) September 12, 2020
Those lucky owners who are in the Early Access Program (EAP) will then see it 2-4 weeks after that, before it is finally released to all owners in the US in mid-December.
Unfortunately, Musk was quite clear in his tweet the initial release would be in the US only, so it appears we’ll have to wait until some time early next year to see it arrive in Canada.
The new software is expected to be a major improvement on the current version, with Musk previously calling it a “quantum leap” compared to what is in Tesla vehicles today.
He would know, as he stated during the company’s Q2 2020 earnings call he has been personally testing the re-write in his Model S, and is able to travel from his home to work with almost 0 disengagements through varying traffic conditions.
