Tesla has finally released the Smart Summon feature, Dumb Summon is still a thing

Two years ago, Elon Musk acknowledged that Tesla's Smart Summon feature was far from living up to its name. In fact, it was an embarrassment to those who tried it only to see their vehicles crash into obstacles or other cars. In September 2022, Musk confirmed that Tesla is working “on (actually smart) Summon/Autopark,” with a deadline set for “end of the month.” Musk did not say which month, or even which year, he was referring to.

However, his words stuck and the improved Smart Summon got its new tongue-in-cheek name of Actually Smart Summon (ASS). Of course, the new smart feature wasn't ready that year, despite Musk posting in October 2022 that “(Actually) Smart Summon is almost ready.” This spring, Tesla’s head of Autopilot, Ashok Elluswamy, provided an interesting update, indicating that Tesla has not abandoned work on ASS.

Ashok said that Tesla FSD would have the ability to drive in reverse when the Actually Smart Summon (ASS) and FSD models merge “in the next releases.” Not long after Elluswamy's post, Elon Musk promised that “major improvements to Summon and Banish (Autopark)” was coming in April. Things were moving quickly, with multiple sources inside Tesla confirming that ASS had reached near-production status by the end of March. However, Tesla did not release ASS, as it encountered some issues with FSD development, its primary focus at the time.

What happened is that Tesla released Vision Autopark, elevating this feature to “finally useful” state. Based on owner experiences, Teslas have gotten pretty good at parking themselves once the driver has selected a spot. The fact that we haven’t heard anything about this feature beyond initial hype confirms that it works as intended, with nothing to complain about. However, Tesla owners want more: they want to experience the self-driving magic promised by Actually Smart Summon.

That much became clear when Tesla launched it with the 2024.26. 20 software update on Monday. People who received the update quickly jumped in the backseat and let their Tesla do the driving, albeit only in parking lots and driveways. For now, there are only two ASS features available: Come To Me and Go To Target. The former is self-explanatory, while the latter lets you send your Tesla to a nearby location. It still can’t park itself in a parking spot, though.

Of course, Actually Smart Summon relies on Tesla Vision, unlike previous Summon features that used ultrasonic sensors. Users get a live feed from the vehicle’s cameras as they maneuver, which is helpful when there’s no clear line of sight to their Tesla. The release notes also mention Dumb Summon, which lets you move your Tesla forward or backward with simple controls in the mobile app.

With future updates, Tesla has promised to expand ASS functionality by allowing it to work without constant pressure in the app and over a longer range. The release notes make it clear that the owner is still responsible for their vehicle if something goes wrong, so don’t think it’s autonomous just because it’s in a parking lot and not on a public road.