Nearly two years after its anticipated launch, Tesla released its “Actually Smart Summon” feature this week.
CEO Elon Musk announced the launch in a post on X, which included a video of the autonomous software in use at a Costco parking lot. According to the release notes, Actually Smart Summon — cheekily dubbed “ASS” — allows Tesla owners to call their vehicle to them or send it to a location of their choosing.
Tesla Actually Smart Summon going to wide release next week! https://t.co/OKNlTKFuCJ
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) September 3, 2024
There’s also a “Dumb Summon” feature that enables owners to move their Teslas forward or backward with controls in the automaker’s app. Both functions work with the lastest versions of the Tesla mobile app.
The new features should “only be used in parking lots or driveways,” Tesla said in the release notes. As a safety feature, users have to hold down the button in the app to get their Tesla to move, and it will stop if and when they release.
“Stay vigilant, especially around the fast and the furious (people, bikes, and other cars). You are still responsible for your vehicle, so watch as it drives and stop it if necessary,” the release notes state.
The release of Actually Smart Summon and Dumb Summon is one step closer to Musk’s vision of unsupervised Full Self-Driving. Tesla made progress with the software in Q2, Musk said during the company’s earnings call.
“With version 12.5 beginning rollout, we think customers will experience a step change improvement in how well supervised Full Self-Driving works,” he said, adding that the transition to unsupervised FSD can “unlock massive potential.”
