Running on autopilot: Tesla will launch software to power driverless cars

© Reuters / Stephen Lam

Seeing a Tesla is about to get a lot more wild, as the company is preparing to install its self-driving software in the Model S fleet. The autopilot feature will only work on highways... as the technology may not yet be legal in the US.

Tesla will roll out an auto-steering software update for the Model S in the next three or four months, and owners won't even have to go into a Tesla store for the upgrade, founder Elon Musk said at a Thursday press conference.

Drivers will only be able to engage the autonomous system while on highways, despite having the technical ability to do a lot more.

Musk said. he continued, noting that such streets often lack posted speed limit signs and pose obstacles like children playing in the street.

the Tesla founder added.

The company has been testing the software mainly between San Francisco and Seattle.

Musk said. We're now almost able to travel all the way from San Francisco to Seattle without the driver touching any controls at all."

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Engadget pointed out that the electric car's new technology is not a huge leap from current automobile abilities.

the tech site wrote.

But the update may be ahead of the law when it comes to self-driving cars, experts warn. Only four states (California, Florida, Michigan and Nevada) allow for driverless cars.

Washington, DC announced new rules at the beginning of April 2014 that would make it the first jurisdiction to license self-driving car operators (rather than just testers). And the federal government has authorized only a handful of test locations for where vehicles use technology to communicate with other similarly equipped vehicles that alert drivers to potentially dangerous situations.

Karl Brauer, an analyst with Kelley Blue Book, told the New York Times

he added.

A spokesman for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration told the Times in January that and that the agency

Alexis Georgeson, a spokesman for Tesla, told the Times that there was

Georgeson said the system was designed to be used by an alert driver. she said.

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The driverless car technology also raises the question of liability in an accident, which may need to be decided by the courts, rather than by legislation.

If it's fully autonomous, who's responsible if there's a mistake? The driver or the company who made it?" Carl Tobias, a law professor at the University of Richmond, told the Times.

Before the autopilot technology arrives, Tesla is pushing a software update in the next two weeks ‒ Version 6.2 ‒ that is designed to reduce or fear of running out of juice while on the road.

© Tesla Motors

The upcoming update, called Range Assurance, will connect the Model S with the network of Tesla Superchargers and destination chargers, discarding those that are in heavy use or are inactive. The technology will also warn drivers before they drive out of range, the company said in a blog post.

Version 7.0 ‒ with the autopilot mode ‒ will have a complete overhaul of its user interface, the Tesla founder told reporters.

Musk noted,

People will be able to summon an unmanned Model S to their location, an ability that the billionaire said will be restricted to private property until the law catches up with the technology.