Tesla Model 3 Gets Summon Feature to Park Itself in a Garage

Tesla on Wednesday announced the official release of Summon feature on its Model 3. Summon, previously available on both the Tesla Model S and Model X variants, uses the autonomous functionality of the Tesla Model 3 to park the car in a garage with the Tesla mobile app or the car's key. With this feature's rollout, the Model 3 will be able to do things like control a garage, manoeuvre itself into it, and power down. Tesla Model 3 is the Palo Alto, California-based next-gen car manufacturer's most affordable offering with a base price tag of $35,000 (roughly Rs. 24.1 lakhs).

The Summon feature on Tesla's range of electric cars, that come with certain autonomous functions, allows the car to exit the garage as well. A report by Engadget claims that the feature, along with others like Wi-Fi support and Autopilot nagging, had started rolling out to the Model 3 a couple of weeks back. The Tesla Model 3 has been in the news for the past few weeks mostly due to a situation around its production output.

A report from June 2018 cited Tesla workers claiming the Model 3 had not been hitting its 5,000 units per week target. However, a report that suggests targets had now been met, followed it.

Discrepancies in reaching the weekly target have been in part due to issues the Model 3's production has faced in the past. These include problems like an over-reliance on automation in its assembly lines, battery issues, and other bottlenecks.

Separately, the Elon Musk-headed Tesla Motors had announced last month that it would be downsizing its residential solar business in the United States. This decision includes the shutting down of about a dozen solar installation facilities and a 9 percent cut in the company's entire workforce. After the downsizing, around 60 facilities are expected to remain open.