Tesla has rolled out Software Version 9 of its Autopilot system, complete with a little feature called ‘Mad Max’ mode.
Word of this feature first emerged in late June when Elon Musk confirmed that Tesla Semi prototypes were equipped with it. At the time, however, the purpose of Mad Max wasn’t known.
Now that the system has been rolled out to customers, we are shown exactly how it works. As we suspected, it is related to how aggressively the Autopilot system initiates overtakes.
With previous versions of Autopilot, drivers have had to toggle the turn signal to get the car to perform an overtake. With Software Version 9, the vehicle can initiate an overtake automatically if it encounters a slower-moving vehicle in its path and no cars in the passing lane. Drivers can control how aggressively the car performs these overtakes, ranging from ‘Mild’ through to ‘Mad Max’.
As with previous versions of Autopilot, customers are still required to keep their hands on the steering wheel at all times and are reminded to do so intermittently. This safety feature helps to ensure that drivers don’t fall asleep at the wheel or become otherwise occupied while Autopilot is enabled.
Interestingly, Elon Musk tweeted in late June that the Mad Max mode wasn’t confirmed for production. At the time, he said that it will be quite easy to bully a self-driving vehicle.
“Reality is that it will be pretty easy to bully a self-driving car, as it will always yield. Will probably have a manual override that requires continuous press for hardcore lane changes,” he said.