Tesla source code reveals Autopilot for city streets and Asia markets in focus

Tesla appears to be laying the groundwork for the rollout of upcoming Full Self-Driving features, as well as a more widespread release of Autopilot’s more advanced features in Asia. The updates were included in the electric car maker’s recently-released 19.40.1.1 update and shared on Twitter by Tesla owner @greentheonly, who has been analyzing the company’s driver-assist system for years. 

The Tesla owner-enthusiast noted that the recent update included a very interesting code. This code was “CityStreetsBehavior,” which is reportedly new in Tesla’s driver-assist system. The function of this code remains unannounced by Tesla, though its name does suggest that it relates to automatic driving in city streets, an upcoming feature for Tesla’s Full Self-Driving system. 

Additional features of Tesla’s Full Self-Driving system have been mentioned by Elon Musk, with the CEO previously stating that he believes the company’s FSD suite would be “feature-complete” by the end of the year. This timeframe is closing in fast, though the addition of this new code in Autopilot suggests that Tesla is expediting its FSD rollout. It should be noted that Elon Musk has also mentioned that Tesla will likely conduct a limited early access release of FSD’s feature-complete version by the end of 2019. 

Also included among the changes included in Tesla’s recent update include several improvements such as license plate routing for the Chinese market and improved guidance view for China and Korea. Unfortunately, Autopilot also received some updates for the Japanese market that limits the driver-assist feature, similar to how it is employed in the European region. 

The inclusion of Autopilot improvements for the Chinese market is particularly notable, considering that Tesla is expected to expand its presence in the Asian country soon. With the completion of Gigafactory 3’s Phase 1 zone, Tesla is now ready to sell the Model 3 en masse in China. So far, the company has received a mass manufacturing license for Gigafactory 3 and is only now waiting for its final permits to start deliveries of the Model 3 to the region. 

With this in mind, there will likely be a massive influx of new Tesla owners in the Chinese market, and since Gigafactory 3 will be producing the Standard Range Plus Model 3, practically all of these vehicles will be equipped with basic Autopilot. License plate routing and improved guidance view would then be incredibly useful features for China-based Model 3 owners. 

Other key features included in Tesla’s recent update are improvements to Tesla’s charging features. The Model 3 Standard Range and Standard Range Plus, for example, are now capable of charging up to 170 kW, while the Mid-Range version has been improved to 200 kW. The company’s automatic wipers have also been improved, thanks to data gathered by the Neural Network.

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