Tesla update halts automatic steering if driver inattentive

AUTOS

Tesla update halts automatic steering if driver inattentive

The Associated Press Published Thursday, September 22, 2016 11:44AM EDT

Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla Motors Inc., introduces the Model X car at the company's headquarters in Fremont, Calif., on Sept. 29, 2015. (Marcio Jose Sanchez / AP)

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DETROIT -- Tesla says an update to its Autopilot system will disable automatic steering if a driver doesn't keep their hands on the wheel.

Version 8.0 of Tesla's software began moving over the Internet to its electric vehicles Wednesday night.

Earlier versions warned the driver and slowed the car to a stop if no hands were detected on the steering wheel. It's unclear if the cars will still do that. Automatic steering won't resume until the car is parked.

The new version of Autopilot also relies more on radar than cameras. Tesla says the change should help avoid crashes like the one that killed a driver in Florida last May.

Tesla says the software also will move the cars around slower vehicles that are partially off the right side of the road.