Firmware

How To Use the Tesla Auto Summoning Feature (Video Demo)

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By now you’ve hopefully seen video demonstrations of Tesla’s ‘summoning’ feature released in v7.1. Here’s how to use it:

  1. With the car in park and off (since you, the driver, either got out or aren’t yet in the car), press down the center button of your fob.
  2. Wait for the hazard lights to stop flashing and show constant, release center button.
  3. Press the frunk button on the front of the fob to move the car forward;  trunk button to reverse.
  4. Hold the fob with your finger over the center button, ready to press to cancel at any time if needed.
  5. Be amazed.

In this test of having the car put itself into a narrow garage, the car was traveling in reverse at 1 mile per hour and stopped where it presumably needed to “think” and power itself over the small change in height from the driveway’s surface to the inside of the garage.

As you can see, this garage is likely one of the smallest someone would park a Model S in, and the feature performed great.

From the v7.1(.2.9.154) release notes:
Initiating – To prepare to park your vehicle, align Model S within 39 feet of the final parking space so Model S can move straight into the space in either Drive or Reverse. With Model S in park, stand within 10 feet of the vehicle and press and hold the center button…  Model S will move up to 39 feet or until the sensors detect an obstacle, at which point parking is considered completed and Autopark will shift the car to Park. Repeat the process above to exit a parking spot remotely.

Cancelling – You can stop the Model S at any time while Summon is in process by pressing the center button on the key fob. (Jen’s note: this is what you will likely do to stop the car once it leaves your garage unless you have a really long driveway.)

Note:

  • Before you can use Summon, you must enable it via the SUMMON setting…
  • Use the new HomeLink auto-open/close feature and enable… if you are parking in a garage and need to operate the garage door after activating Summon.
  • Model S may not detect certain obstacles including those that are very narrow (e.g., bikes), lower than the fascia, or hanging from the ceiling. As such, Summon requires that you continually monitor your vehicle’s movement and surroundings while it is in progress, and that you remain prepared to stop the vehicle at any time using your key fob.
  • Only use Summon on flat driveways.
  • You must stay in proximity to your vehicle and continually monitor and maintain control of it when using the feature. You should only use this feature on private property.

It is an exciting time to be a Tesla enthusiast. Things are moving fast so check back with us here at Teslarati for firmware feature demonstrations. News also available on demand through our iOS and Android app.

Tesla v7.1 News

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