A hair-raising new video has revealed a glimpse at the impressive capabilities of Tesla’s Autopilot feature.
Over the last few months, YouTuber A Digital Nomad has filmed his vehicles attempting to complete the so-called ‘Curve of Death’ without assistance – a winding stretch on I-95 that he describes as a ‘trucks flip over type of turn.’
The latest video reveals the incredible moment a Model S successfully completes the curve on its own for the first time.
And, it does it all at night, in the rain.
Over the last few months, YouTuber A Digital Nomad has filmed his vehicles attempting to complete the so-called ‘Curve of Death’ without assistance – a winding stretch on I-95 that he describes as a ‘trucks flip over type of turn’
While the latest experiment is a success, the under-two-minute footage will have you on the edge of your seat.
‘This is it, the curve of death,’ the YouTuber says as the Model S pulls onto the 30mph turn.
‘We’re doing it everybody, this is at night, and in the rain.’
The attempt, uploaded last month, was the fourth Curve of Death experiment the YouTuber has done since November.
‘This is a new car, this is a Model S,’ he notes in the video. ‘It’s not my Model X so I don’t know if the whole fleet has learned this.’
In the video, the car can be seen slowing down to begin the turn, at first taking it on at about 34 miles per hour.
It tightly hugs the left lane marker, which is bordered by what appears to be a several-foot drop-off.
The video reveals the incredible moment a Model S successfully completes the curve on its own for the first time. And, it does it all at night, in the rain
For a few nerve-wracking seconds, it’s unclear if it will be able to stay on course, and the YouTuber can be heard yelling ‘Whoa, whoa’ in the background.
‘Just jerked the wheel there,’ he remarks at one point, adding, ‘It’s doing better. This is better than it was last time.’
But, the Model S manages to complete the turn without any help.
The attempt, uploaded last month, was the fourth Curve of Death experiment the YouTuber has done since November. This time, it successfully merged into traffic without him having to take over
As it merges toward the traffic, the YouTuber explains that at this point, he previously had to take over.
‘I ended up grabbing the wheel here last time, because of the way it was going into oncoming traffic,’ the YouTuber says.
This time around, however, the car manages to enter traffic without any incidents.
‘We made it all the way through, attempt number four,’ the YouTuber can be heard cheering. ‘This is a historic event.’
All Tesla vehicles are now built with the hardware for completely autonomous driving. Elon Musk revealed the ambitious plan back in 2016. But, there are several hurdles to overcome before the cars can actually drive entirely on their own (level 5 autonomy). File photo
All Tesla vehicles are now built with the hardware for completely autonomous driving.
Elon Musk revealed the ambitious plan back in 2016, and claimed the safety level of the system would far surpass that of a human driver.
But, there are several hurdles to overcome before the cars can actually drive entirely on their own (level 5 autonomy), including legal roadblocks.
Still, the latest video shows just how far the technology has come, as the firm promises even more advanced capabilities are on the way.