Tesla has rolled out a software update that enables electric vehicles to detect potholes on the road and automatically change the suspension accordingly. Teslas come with a full-fledged operating system with many handy features, including Full Self-Driving (FSD), Spotify and Netflix integration, the ability to play AAA video games and more. The company also rolls out OTA software updates that often bring many new features, bug fixes, and security enhancements, just like any computer or smartphone.
While Teslas offer many useful features, they miss out on smart in-car infotainment systems, such as Android Auto and Apple CarPlay. That makes Tesla the odd one out among mainstream automakers, as both Android Auto and Apple CarPlay are virtually standard equipment on most modern vehicles. Even when an automaker leaves out these features from their cars, it is only a temporary measure. For example, BMW is currently shipping cars without support for Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, but the company says it plans to add these features through a software update in the future.
Tesla's latest software update, version 2022.20, comes with several new features, including adjusting the suspension on the fly to prevent problems when traveling over potholed roads. The feature is specific to the two models with adaptive suspension — the Model X and Model S. To decide how and when to adjust the suspension based on road conditions, the software utilizes data collected from its massive fleet over time. According to the release notes for the latest update, the adjustment may occur "at various locations, subject to availability, as the vehicle downloads rough road map data generated by Tesla vehicles."
The Feature Has To Be Enabled Manually
To enable the feature, drivers will need to go into 'Controls' and then select 'Suspension' before getting into the 'Adaptive Suspension Damping' section. Once there, simply select the 'Comfort' or 'Auto' setting to raise the suspension over a rough stretch of road. While the former will enable a soft ride quality on all surfaces, the latter will automatically adjust the setting depending on the road condition, meaning drivers won't have to sacrifice handling for the sake of ride quality on smoother surfaces.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk initially hyped up the pothole-detection feature in 2020 when he said it would be part of the Tesla Autopilot feature. As things stand now, the feature is available in isolation and is not part of the company's Autopilot or FSD beta. Either way, the ability to detect potholes on the road and change the car's suspension accordingly is a move in the right direction. The next obvious step would be to make Autopilot or FSD take note of an oncoming pothole and avoid it without missing a beat. However, there's no telling when Tesla will achieve that.
Source: Not A Tesla App