As clever as the new software is in Tesla Model S and Model X vehicles, there are still a few issues that need to be addressed regarding safety.
Driving on the highway or slowly crawling out of a garage is one thing, but detecting certain objects or even individuals while the owner of the car isn’t even behind the wheel, is something Tesla needs to perfect.
Unless your Tesla is able to identify pretty much everything, there’s no way you can use the Summon feature without always being right next to it in case something goes wrong – like if somebody walks in front of the car, or falls down in front of it, like a small child or somebody on a skateboard.
Looking at this video, it seems that the sensors in the Model S are looking for objects with mass, otherwise the car tends to move forward even when there’s a stuffed animal in front of it.
While not hitting stuffed animals is probably not that high on anyone’s priority list, it does raise questions about how sensitive these sensors should be. Ideally they should be able to detect just about anything, regardless of mass – otherwise you’ll never be able to look cool while summoning your car out of the garage with you still in the house finishing up your morning coffee.