Musk: Tesla getting “regulatory pushback” on remote-control feature

Enlarge / Elon Musk. (credit: DAVID MCNEW/AFP/Getty Images)

Elon Musk’s dream of customers driving their Teslas around parking lots “like a big RC car” has hit a snag, the mogul said on Twitter Thursday. The software for Tesla’s summon and remote control features was weeks away from completion, he said. However, Musk said that the remote control feature was “getting some regulatory pushback”—at least in some parts of the world. He didn’t specify which parts of the world he was talking about.

At the moment, Tesla vehicles only have a basic summon capability. Drivers can order a car to inch forward or backward using a smartphone—which is useful when squeezing into tight parking spaces. But this requires the driver to be close by and actively monitoring the vehicle.

For a while, Tesla has been working on a much more ambitious version of the feature called “Smart Summon.” As described on Tesla’s Autopilot website, it would mean “your car will navigate more complex environments and parking spaces, maneuvering around objects as necessary to come find you.” In November, Musk tweeted that a future Summon upgrade would allow Tesla’s cars to “drive to your phone location & follow you like a pet.” Musk said that this “advanced summon” technology—which may not be the same as the “smart summon” featured touted on Tesla’s website—would be ready in about six weeks.