Tesla Autopilot Update May Require Service Visit

The latest round of wireless “over-the-air” updates made last weekend to Tesla Motors Inc.’s Autopilot software for semi-autonomous vehicle systems may require owners to take their vehicles to a dealer for the technology to work properly.

The Enhanced Autopilot software updates are available for Model S and Model X electric vehicles produced since last October (and some earlier high-end variants), all of which are equipped with Tesla’s second suite of sensor hardware (eight cameras and 12 ultrasonic sensors). But in some of these vehicles a camera’s pitch angle may need to be adjusted to accommodate the software.

The updates enable the use of Tesla’s latest autonomous steering, forward collision warning and adaptive cruise control features.

In announcing the updates on Twitter, CEO Elon Musk urged drivers to “be cautious.” He also notes that the system’s auto steer function will work at speeds only as high as 45 mph, and that adaptive cruise control has an upper limit of 75 mph.

In addition, Musk says Tesla models will get “major” hardware revisions every 12-18 months. But he notes there are no plans to offer retrofits for older models as future upgrades occur. Doing so would be “super complex” and could require as many as 300 components to be replaced or substantially changed, according to Musk.