Tesla Motors Inc. plans to roll out an update to its Autopilot driver-assistance feature Wednesday, Chief Executive Elon Musk said early Friday morning.
In a tweet, Musk said he was "hoping" to release the software update then "if no last minute issues discovered."
Musk described the pending changes Sunday. The new Autopilot will rely primarily on radar, not just cameras, to help the car "see" what's going on around it and better avoid collisions.
The update also includes more safeguards to ensure drivers remain alert while using Autopilot. If a driver ignores repeated warnings to take control of the wheel, he or she will have to park the car and restart it to engage the automatic steering function again.
The changes come after a Tesla Model S driver died in a crash this spring in Florida while using Autopilot. The sedan slammed into a big rig after Autopilot apparently failed to distinguish between the white truck and the bright sky behind it.
