Tesla cars can now drive themselves to their owners with 'Smart Summon' but video shows the feature wreaking havoc

REUTERS/Mike Blake

A software update to Tesla's has given them the ability to autonomously find their owners in parking lots.

• Tesla cars are now able to be remotely summoned by their owners through an app using a feature called "Smart Summon."
• Smart Summon was rolled out as part of a software update last week, and allows Tesla owners to use the Tesla app to summon their cars from 200 feet away.
• While some videos show owners using the feature enthusiastically, other videos and testimonies on social media show the cars getting into scrapes, such as near-accidents and driving into foliage.
  
• Tesla has said the feature should only be used in private driveways and parking areas for now.
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An update to Tesla cars means the vehicles are able to find their owners in parking lots, but it seems the rollout has hit a few snags.

The feature is called "Smart Summon" and was rolled out as part of the Tesla software update 10.0 last week. It allows Tesla owners to press a button in the Tesla app on their phone, and their car will drive itself to their location from a maximum distance of 200 feet, even navigating obstacles. In a tweet last week CEO Elon Musk said the feature was "improving rapidly."

Some owners shared gleeful videos of their cars coming to find them.

However, videos and photos started to circulate of summoned Tesla's getting into more precarious situations. One video showed a Tesla almost getting into a crash with an SUV.

One Tesla owner claimed his car got a dent after it drove into the side of his garage, and another photo appeared to show a Tesla which had mounted a curb into some foliage.

A video on YouTube showed a summoned vehicle apparently becoming confused after encountering pedestrians and other cars in a Walmart car park.

Tesla says on its website that Smart Summon is "only intended for use in private parking lots and driveways."

"You are still responsible for your car and must monitor it and its surroundings at all times and be within your line of sight because it may not detect all obstacles. Be especially careful around quick moving people, bicycles and cars," it adds.

The self-driving capabilities of Tesla cars are under scrutiny in the US, as the company is facing multiple lawsuits from the families of people who died in car crashes while their Tesla's autopilot feature was enabled.

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