Tesla owners everywhere went wildly excited for the Model S software upgrade which included the popular Summon feature, which pulls out the car automatically from the garage. For Australian customers though, this feature was not available… until now.
Tesla beats BMW in Australia with Summon
Last year, Trevor Long of EFTM asked BMW if he could review their 7 Series technological innovation. The irresistible feature was the remote control in the key which allowed drivers to be outside the car while using the key to drive it into a car space, out of a car space, or in and out of the garage. Unfortunately, this feature was not available in the BMW he drove, not because the option had not been selected when the car was built, but because Australian regulations didn’t allow it. Tesla drivers were the victims of the same legislation.
However, Teslas are different from BMWs; the former is a software-driven vehicle, whereas BMWs are not. Also, to add this feature, BMWs will require a new key, says Long. The European BMW 7 Series “display key” has a button on the side used for remote parking, and even a software upgrade to the car can’t enable the feature without that button.
Different from the U.S. version
On Saturday, the Tesla announced software version 7.1.1, which introduces Summon to Model S sedans in Australia. It is not the same as the U.S. version, but the concept is there and Australian regulations have no problem with it. In the U.S., drivers don’t need to be in a certain range to summon the car using the car key. Also the auto-park function that allows drivers to double-tap the park button and exit the car before it parks itself in the garage is missing in Australia.
Tesla’s Summon feature is really impressive, but as per the U.S. firm, it is still in beta mode.
“This means that it is customer ready, however will continually be improved over time,” the EV firm said earlier.
Tesla, however, did set an example by working at such a rapid pace with the government and bringing the feature to Australia before any other automaker. The feature is especially useful for tight spaces and narrow garages.
