The Tesla Model 3 Is About To Get Software Update, And It’s Making The EV More Autonomous

One way or another, the Tesla Model 3 will eventually be an autonomous vehicle. Designed as a means to usher in the renewable age in the automotive industry, the disruptive EV has managed to the set to the green car market on fire, with the vehicle gaining more than 400,000 pre-orders since it was officially launched last year.

As the production versions of the vehicle start rolling off the production line, however, Tesla has begun treating its latest innovation the same as its mainstays — the flagship Model S sedan and the electric midsize Model X SUV, with the vehicle getting constant software updates.

In a recent announcement, Tesla stated that it is releasing a new software update for the Model 3, and it would make the vehicle slightly more autonomous. The Tesla Model 3 comes with the company’s newest software, dubbed Autopilot 2.5 by the EV community. Just like the software on the Model S and Model X, however, it turns out that Autopilot 2.5 for the Model 3 needs some major calibration.

In an email to Model 3 owners that was sent this week, Tesla stated that the new Autopilot software needs to be recalibrated for each individual vehicle. As stated in an Electrek report, the email from the upstart carmaker included instructions on how to properly calibrate the Model 3’s Autopilot 2.5 software.

“To take advantage of this update, you will need to recalibrate the Autopilot hardware on your vehicle by driving on straight, well-marked roads for a total of 50 miles. Please keep in mind that recalibration time can vary based on road types. After this calibration process, Parallel and Perpendicular Autopark will be newly enabled, and Autopilot will resume normal operation. There is no need for a service visit.”

Apart from the added Autopilot features, Tesla also teased several other features such as Homelink and Auto Mirror Tilt among the upcoming features that the Model 3 would receive through over-the-air updates.

In a lot of ways, calibrating the Model 3’s Autopilot 2.5 software for the vehicle probably entails more effort on Tesla’s part. The mass-market EV, after all, is vastly different from the other vehicles in Tesla’s lineup. Its interface, for example, comes in the form of a single horizontal touchscreen instead of the Model S and X’s vertical touch panel, which all but requires additional time and effort from Tesla’s software team.

If any, the new, seemingly consistent updates to the Model 3’s software all but proves that Tesla is dead serious when it envisioned a future where fully autonomous versions of the EV are commonplace. If Tesla continues to roll out updates at this pace, the carmaker might end up refining the Model 3’s Autopilot software significantly before meeting the 400,000 existing pre-orders for the vehicle.

[Featured Image by Tesla]