Autopilot
In an unheralded technical milestone, over the Xmas break two Teslas were driven Autopilot from Johor Bahru to Penang (from the south to the north of MY) [v1 v2]. Although highway auto-driving is easier than urban commuting, the event suggests Autopilot:
- Can handle MY road infra, road signs and lane markings
- Can read MY's Google Map to accurately navigate
- Can accommodate MY drivers, bikers and truckers
- Can count on charging infra (though sparse) for the 680km journey
- No jarring interventions or incidents noted by the drivers
Engineering
This is a notable achievement for Autopilot's engineers:
- Who are primarily HQed in Silicon Valley
- Did not require a MY field test team (though data and feedback may have been remotely gathered from early MY and SG Tesla adopters)
- Scaled Autopilot from left-hand drive temperate US to right-hand drive tropical MY at the opposite side of the globe.
- Did not focus the tech for elite locations only, but built it global and accessible from the word go.
Notes
- As this was possibly a maiden run, the drivers prudently used Autopilot to drive leisurely.
- The journey took 12 hours, from early morning to evening (normal 8-9 hours) including 3 breaks for charging and encountering congestion between Slim River and Ipoh (about 105km).
- Full autonomous driving may still have some way to go. But, all in all, in terms of getting safely and comfortably from A to B, this event is a plus for Autopilot.