Tesla Model 3 with Full Self Driving now changes lanes automatically

Tesla’s Navigate on Autopilot feature now changes lanes automatically in Australia, without prompting the driver before making the manouevre.

The semi-autonomous feature, which has been available in Australia for owners of Tesla cars who have also paid for the Full Self Driving (FSD) package, has been available in Australia since late 2019 but only in partial form.

Now, we can confirm that the latest update 2020.24.6.9 will allow drivers to enjoy seamless lane changes without the need to tap confirm before changing lanes (where the software allows it).

Confirmation was previously required as Tesla’s software collected enough data to ensure the decisions it makes to change lanes was accurate.

The new feature was flagged to The Driven by Tesla youtuber and owner “Tesla Tom”, who has tested it out on Sydney roads as you can view in the video below.

Approaching the Sydney Harbour Bridge on the Warringah Freeway, he shows the car flagging a lane change and then making the change without waiting for confirmation from the driver – which up until now, it has done.

In a note to The Driven, Tesla Tom said that the lane change is, “pretty incredible because normally you have to confirm either by waggling the steering wheel or indicating to confirm (depending on your Autopilot setting).

“But in that particular case, the car knew it had to change lanes before the Harbour Bridge approach and just went for it.

“Without needing my input! That’s true autonomy albeit in a micro situation,” he said.

He notes that particular section of the Warringah Freeway is tight. “If you miss that turn off, you will head into the Harbour Tunnel instead of the bridge. Which means the car made a quick micro decision without human input.”

The feature is a neat addition to the semi-autonomous driving toolbox now available in Australia, where Tesla owners wait often some months for rollouts of software updates while the features are beta-tested in the US.

Navigate on Autopilot (which allows lane changes as well as highway exit and entry assistance), Autopark (self-explanatory) and Summon (which allows the vehicle to drive itself across a car park to pick a driver and passengers up) are all features that make up the Full Self Driving toolkit, which CEO and co-founder Elon Musk hopes one day will become fully autonomous and enable the company to deploy a fleet of “robo-taxis”.

Another feature that is already live in the US, but not in Australia, is automatic starting at green traffic lights.

While auto stopping at traffic lights and stop signs was introduced into Australia in June, as Tesla Tom notes in the video, “Here in Australia we’ve still got to clear the traffic lights.”

For those that are thinking of buying a Tesla electric car but are unsure of the cost of Full Self Driving – which was increased on July 1, 2020 to $10,000 – word on the street is that it is best to buy after the vehicle purchase to avoid an additional pump on the luxury car tax.