Tesla’s smart summon feature hits many snags

Tesla owners have released videos of their cars failing to navigate everyday motoring problems, including encountering pedestrians.

A Tesla Model 3.

It was meant to be a taste of the future: Tesla drivers had been given the power to “summon” their vehicles from 60m away to where they were standing, using only smartphones.

Unfortunately, the road to that future is strewn with obstacles. Several Tesla owners have released videos of their cars struggling to navigate the everyday problems drivers encounter, ­including other vehicles and pedestrians. Sometimes the cars cannot even work out in which direction to travel.

The “smart summon” software update was released last week and clips have emerged of the vehicles mounting kerbs, nearly colliding with parked vehicles, driving away from their owners and causing other drivers to come screeching to a halt.

Tesla’s founder and chief executive Elon Musk has boasted about the autonomous capabilities of his electric cars compared with those offered by competitors.

An autopilot feature allows drivers to hand over control to the Tesla on freeways, as long as their hands remain on the wheel. In February, Mr Musk said Tesla cars would soon be so good at driving themselves their owners would be able to fall asleep at the wheel by the end of next year.

The smart summon feature was rolled out in the US to owners who had bought the full self-driving package. Using a smartphone, they can summon their car from a maximum distance of 60m, as long as the vehicle is within the line of sight. The cars are fitted with sensors, radars and cameras.

Drivers have been expressing their disappointment with the feature, describing of near collisions with other cars, Teslas driving into a garage wall, or failing to stop as another car reversed out of a parking space. Some YouTube users have been testing how well the car can handle unexpected scenarios by running in front of it to see whether it whether it detects them.

Defenders of Teslas said the summon feature was in beta mode, meaning its faults were being ironed out and drivers were responsible for their vehicles in the meantime.

The company, established in 2003, says the summon feature is intended for use only in private carparks and driveways.

It adds that the cars may not detect all obstacles and advises owners to be “especially careful around quick-moving people, ­bicycles and cars”.

The self-driving capabilities of Teslas are under scrutiny in the US, where the company faces lawsuits from families of people who have died in car crashes while Tesla’s ­autopilot feature was enabled.

The Times