Tesla's Latest Update Killed Some Vehicles' Autopilot

Tesla’s latest over-the-air update appears to have caused at least a few drivers to lose all Autopilot functionality. While the vehicles seem otherwise intact, the semi-autonomous driving mode that was supposed to be improved by the latest firmware installation ended up a little buggy. That’s unfortunate for Tesla — a company that could do without additional bad publicity.

Luckily, minor software issues are exactly that — minor. This isn’t on the same scale as Tesla’s CEO promising to go public or pretending to smoke weed online. It isn’t even as big of a deal as the company losing another high-ranking executive, which also happened this week.

Ryan Felton, a kind gentleman who frequently has his finger on the pulse of advanced automotive tech, recently shared several customer accounts via Jalopnik. One anonymous owner claimed their Model 3’s Autopilot system wasn’t available after Tuesday night’s over-the-air update failed. Initially, they were told by the automaker that any firmware problems wold be worked out by the following day.

From Jalopnik:

But then they discovered Autopilot had been disabled. The driver said it took nearly a half hour to reach a rep by phone, who explained there was no “immediate fix” but that it should be resolved “soon.” After another hour and a half on the phone waiting to hear back an explanation for the issue, a Tesla rep explained by phone, and then in an email, that a fix should be forthcoming.

“The current estimate is that the issue should be solved in the next two days,” the email said.

Tesla has told affected customers it is aware of the issue and has dispatched its engineering team to address the problem. Most owners have been informed that the Autopilot error should be remedied within a few days.

The recent over-the-air update was meant to enhance various aspects of the Autopilot system. Those changes included new abilities for establishing entry and exit ramp maneuvers while also adding traffic light and sign recognition. Unfortunately, the new software update obliterated the system on some cars.

While pecking around various owner forums revealed other owners who were affected, the issue doesn’t seem to be particularly widespread. However, some customers noted that Tesla issued numerous software updates this week, including an older version and a new one that simply didn’t take for some customers. Those afflicted with update failures also appeared to be the ones suffering from Autopilot failure.

Elon Musk seems aware of the issue but urged customers to be patient while the company figures out how to best handle the situation. “Due to a large increase in vehicle delivery volume in North America, Tesla customers may experience longer response times,” Musk tweeted last night. “Resolving this is our top priority.”

It would be easy to criticize the automaker for accidentally stripping its clientele of one of their favorite features but, honestly, we feel fine that an incomplete update resulted in the vehicle losing Autopilot functionality. Better to drive yourself than let your car take a stab at it without all the necessary code.

[Image: Tesla]