People have been left divided after a woman tested out her Tesla’s new ‘smart summons’ feature.
Technology has been solving – and sometimes adding to – our problems for decades. But now, Tesla has offered up a fix for a rather common complaint most car drivers have.
If you’d rather your vehicle come to you instead of walking all the way back to the parking lot to find it, then you’re in luck.
Tesla’s ‘Actually Smart Summon’ – or ASS, for short – was rolled out in September and ‘enables your car to come to you from anywhere in the parking lot,’ the car manufacturer explained on Twitter.
Do you ever get irritated by walking all the way around a parking lot to find your car? (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
You can also send your car to a location of your choosing.
One TikTok user and content creator, Sadie, who goes by @sadelouiseee, decided to put the ‘actually smart summons’ feature to the test.
Parking around a corner and then walking a few meters away, Sade pressed the summons button on her Tesla app. She gave a short shriek in delight as the car began moving. “There’s nobody in the car!” she laughed, as her disbelief continued while the car parked itself and she sat back inside.
People took to the comments, with many impressed by the feature.
Tesla’s new summon feature #tesla #teslasummon #teslamodel3 #fyp #selfdriving #foryou
♬ original sound – Sadé | Content Creator 📸🎥
One person wrote: “That’s so dope!! But my heart was racing” as Sade replied: “Literally ! The whole entire time”.
As a second agreed: “Very cool” as a third wrote: “That’s crazy!!!”
But not everyone was wowed by the feature, as one person said: “This is beyond creepy”.
Another laughed: “listen if I get a tesla and miss a payment they gonna summon it right back to the dealer ship”.
A similar function, Smart Summon, has been available for Model Y Teslas for a couple of years. The company explained the car uses your phone’s GPS as a target destination, ‘maneuvering around and stopping for objects as necessary.’
Actually Smart Summon 🍑 enables your car to come to you from anywhere in the parking lot
You can also send it to a location of your choosing pic.twitter.com/oiTNtgPQog
— Tesla (@Tesla) September 23, 2024
Tesla said on its website: “Smart Summon works with the Tesla mobile app when your phone is located within approximately 213 ft. (65 meters) of Model Y.
“You must maintain a clear line of sight between you and Model Y and closely monitor the vehicle and its surroundings at all times.”
It comes as the billionaire tech giant unveiled Tesla’s self-driving robotaxi at his We, Robot event ON October 10 in Burbank, California. CEO Elon Musk also revealed the surprisingly low price the vehicles would go on sale for.
Dubbed the Cybercab, the bronze, futuristic-looking vehicle features two scissor doors, looking very similar to that of the wings of a bird.
Tesla’s Cybercab will go into production in 2027. (Tesla)
But sit inside and you’ll find neither pedals nor a steering wheel as you’d usually expect.
During his talk, Musk claimed the new vehicles would go on sale for less than $30,000 (£23,000).
One of Tesla’s cheapest car models, for comparison, is the base Model 3 Rear-Wheel Drive, starting at $38,990 (£29,837.88).
The Tesla CEO suggested production on the Cybercabs would begin some time ‘before 2027.’
