Tesla’s Summon feature just got a lot smarter — and a cheeky new name
Tesla has launched its “Actually Smart Summon” feature.
Tesla’s car lineup just got a cheeky upgrade with a dose of classic Elon Musk humor.
The company has finally begun rolling out its “Actually Smart Summon” feature — or ASS for short, as the company made sure to tell people — after numerous delays.
S3XY getting that ASS https://t.co/cVOCaHlWOm
— Tesla AI (@Tesla_AI) September 3, 2024
Musk, known for frequently being months or years off in his release-timeline predictions, previously said the feature would debut by the end of September 2022, which went by without a rollout. He later hinted at an April 2023 deadline, but Tesla again failed to deliver the update.
Two years after its initially proposed date, the upgraded Summon feature is here at last, along with Dumb Summon, Tesla’s name for the options to move your car only backward and forward.
Tesla Actually Smart Summon going to wide release next
week! https://t.co/OKNlTKFuC
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) September 3, 2024
“Buckle up for the ride of your life, except, surprise! You’re not in the car,” the company wrote in its release notes. “ASS (Actually Smart Summon) allows your vehicle to come to you, or head to a spot that you choose, all on its own. It’s like magic, but with more tech and less wand-waving.”
Drivers can use their Tesla mobile app, which now has a “Summon” tab, to get a live feed from their cars’ cameras. The tab will show two options: “COME TO ME,” which will have the vehicle automatically drive to your location, and “GO TO TARGET,” which allows you to set a different location for your Tesla to drive to.
To stop either command, users can simply let go of the button. Tesla says that ASS and Dumb Summon should be used only in parking lots or driveways and tells drivers to “stay vigilant.”
While the original version of Summon was released in 2019, many people reported various issues and even crashes. Although early impressions of the new version have been positive, with one driver posting on X that they were “super impressed,” it’s still a long way from the lofty goals Musk previously predicted.
In 2016, the Tesla CEO said in a post that in two years, he expected Summon to “work anywhere connected by land,” meaning that you could control the car across the country.
In ~2 years, summon should work anywhere connected by land & not blocked by borders, eg you’re in LA and the car is in NY
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 10, 2016
With Actually Smart Summon’s release coming right on the cusp of Tesla’s Robotaxi showcase in October, this could be the autumn when we start seeing how close Musk’s vision for autonomous driving is to becoming a reality — even if the software that eventually launches arrives with some compromises.
