What Is Tesla’s ‘Smart Summon’ & Why You Should Be Cautious Using It
Tesla has a feature in some of its vehicles that owners can ‘summon’ their car to them just by using an app. In addition, Tesla has an Autopilot feature that assists with steering, accelerating and braking. Owners can also get a subscription to transfer to Full Self-Driving (FSD) with updates to improve the feature over time. While both of these may sound like autonomous driving, they both need driver supervision.
Tesla electric vehicles have been in several crashes while in FSD mode, proving that this system is still very much in beta form. Last November, a 2021 Model Y in California was in a minor accident when turning left. The car moved into the wrong lane to turn, and while it did provide a warning, it was too late to correct the move, and the other vehicle hit the driver’s side. Luckily, no injuries were reported. Unlike the crash earlier last year where two people were killed. A Model S was driving too fast around a curve and crashed into a tree. It then burst into flames. Strangely, there was no one reported in the driver’s seat. One person was in the front passenger seat, and the other was in the backseat. As mentioned above, the feature requires driver supervision.
Related: Tesla Full Self-Driving 10.10 Caught Making Some Serious Errors
It makes one wonder why a driver would want to summon their vehicle to them if Autopilot and FSD modes can cause accidents. Tesla’s ‘Smart Summon’ feature can be used with the Tesla mobile app when they are six meters (about 20 feet) away from the vehicle. The feature uses the owner’s phone’s GPS or the user can input a location. According to the website, “Smart Summon maneuvers [the car] out of parking spaces and around corners.” It also notes that the driver needs to be able
Read more on screenrant.com
