Tesla rolls out Summon, a beta self-parking feature for Model S and X

By Jason Hahn January 10, 2016

Tesla AutoPark V7.1 - Summon Feature

Now you can “summon” your Tesla Model S or Model X to enter and exit a parking space on its own. The Summon feature was rolled out with the firmware version 7.1 update on Saturday.

Summon is a beta feature, according to the release notes posted to the Tesla Motors Club forum. “You can now park Model S from outside the vehicle. This feature is especially useful for parking in tight spaces and narrow garages.”

To use the Summon feature, the driver has to align their Model S within 39 feet of the desired parking space so the car can either drive or reverse straight into the spot. This means no auto-parallel parking, for now.

The driver has to stand within 10 feet of their Tesla and press and hold the center button on their key fob until the hazard lights flash continuously. Then the driver has to press the frunk (i.e., “front trunk”) button on their key fob once to initiate the auto-park feature. The car will drive or reverse into the spot, with its sensors used to determine whether the parking job is done. This process can be used to summon the Model S to exit a parking spot as well.

The Summon feature, which has to be enabled, can also use the new HomeLink feature to automatically open and close a garage door during the auto-parking process.

Drivers are urged to monitor the auto-parking process, since the car may not detect some objects on the ground or hanging from above. “You must stay in proximity to your vehicle and continuously monitor and maintain control of it when using this feature,” according to the firmware update notes. “You should only use this feature on private property.”

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Jason Hahn is a part-time freelance writer based in New Jersey. He earned his master's degree in journalism at Northwestern…

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