Tesla's new Autopilot will start being released mid-December - here's what it can do

New Tesla cars will start getting a big update in mid-December.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk tweeted on Friday that Autopilot 8.1 will first come out in three weeks and will then roll out incrementally in monthly releases. That seems to mean some features will become available in mid-December with others slated to arrive later.

Autopilot 8.1, or Enhanced Autopilot, will only be available in cars purchased after October 19. That's because Musk announced at the time that vehicles currently in production - which include the Model X, Model S, and future Model 3 - will be equipped with new hardware that will allow for the Autopilot improvements.

Musk also said the new hardware will allow the cars to be fully self-driving, pending further software validation and regulatory approval.

Here's our breakdown of the new system: