Tesla’s New Autopilot V8.0 Will Keep the Cabin Cool for 365 Days

Tesla Model S P100D (Credit: Tesla)

Tesla has finally finished the latest version of its Autopilot system. Version 8.0 of its semi-autonomous driving system has all types of updates to keep things safe, including a new radar system that becomes the primary control sensor, access to six times as many radar objects, and assembly of these radar images every tenth of a second to create a full picture of what’s in front of the car.

While the aforementioned changes and the fleet mapping to help avoid another tragedy like what happened in Florida are the big changes, there is another change that will help keep young kids and pets safe.

Tesla is building in an automatic cooling system that will run even when the vehicle is turned off if it senses there are children or pets in the car. It will use vents and the occasional air-conditioning blast to assure the inside of the car never exceeds 105 degrees F. This will help compensate for boneheads who accidentally leave their kids or pets in the car on a hot summer day.

I know what you’re thinking: This always-on system will drain my battery! According to Elon Musk, the drain on the battery will be minimal and, with a full charge, this system would take a year to fully discharge the battery.

Musk did note that this system can’t always detect kids and pets, and activate. Translated: don’t rely on this system to automatically babysit your kids while you go Walmarting on a summer afternoon. Of course, given the fact that Tesla drivers have so intelligently used Autopilot in the past, I am sure they will all heed Musk’s warnings…

According to the report from Musk, the over-the-air downloads of v8.0 should have begun on the evening of Sept. 21. The downloads will not complete overnight, though, as the roll-out will be slow to give time for updates and problem solving.

Stay tuned for updates