It must feel like Christmas morning to Tesla owners every time new software is deployed as an over-the-air (OTA) update. With the newest update, owners were gifted with a beta version of Summon, a self-driving step beyond remote start since an owner can “summon” the car to come to them. Tesla firmware 7.1 release notes put that Summon distance at 39 feet right now, but Tesla CEO Elon Musk said that in a few years, owners will be able to “summon” their car from one coast to have it come pick them up on another.

Elon Musk

“If you’re in New York and your car is in Los Angeles, you can summon your car to you from your phone and tell the car to find you,” Musk told reporters. “It’ll automatically charge itself along the journey. I might be slightly optimistic about that, but not significantly optimistic.”

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