Tesla just recently unveiled an update to the Model S that enables drivers to "summon" their cars. But the automaker has larger goals in mind. Tesla hopes to manufacture a car that will drive on its own cross-country. Is the future coming sooner than expected?
Elon Musk, Tesla's main chief, announces that the new Summon feature will work within the next two years or by 2018 and hopes that it will not only park your car for you but it will become more than that.
As he puts it, Musk claims that the Summon feature can also be applicable to long distance requests. You could summon your electronic vehicle to go to you, even if your car is in New York and you're currently in Los Angeles.
Musk's ambitious statement was also posted on Twitter using his social media handle @elonmusk:
In ~2 years, summon should work anywhere connected by land & not blocked by borders, eg you're in LA and the car is in NY.
The wait time might take a couple of days but it is a possibility for the company's vision to come into fruition because the Models will have automatic chargers that would keep the car running even when it's going on a cross-country trip.
This bold prediction from Musk proves Tesla has ambitious goals. However, this may have some geo-political restrictions because there are only so few U.S. states that allow self-driving cars. This will be a challenge for Musk to overcome especially when there are legal restrictions that are differnt from state to state and the limitation also applies to owners especially when they are located in another state.
Musk expressed his sentiments in a conference call that the Tesla cars would need a "lot of redundancy". The company needs to make sure there are back ups in order to prevent human involvement of any kind during the trip, as online posts stated.
