Tesla keeps on improving its Autopilot system and the new version is now able to overtake other cars in traffic with the "Navigate with Autopilot" function. It features a "Mad Max" mode for more assured passes.

Tesla cars have been driving themselves around and about for quite a while now, but passing hasn't been anywhere near second nature for the American EVs. To initiate an overtake when navigating with the Autopilot system turned on, you had to toggle the turn signals yourself. Now, with version 9 of the system being available, this is no longer the case.

What's New

Version 9 of Tesla's Autopilot is now available and it comes with a much-needed new feature: overtaking without any human input. Basically, while in the "Navigate with Autopilot" function, the car will perform an overtake when it nears the back of a car that's moving slower than your current speed if the lane on the left is clear.

It's unclear at the moment how aggressive each mode is, but the A.I. doesn't seem particularly adventurous in "Mad Max" modes in the videos we've seen. Granted, there's not much in the way of traffic in those scenarios so we don't know how the system would act on a packed highway.

The comprehensive overtake feature has been in testing since this summer, with Elon Musk tweeting about the "Mad Max" mode at the time saying that it isn't confirmed for production yet. He also added in a tweet that "it will be pretty easy to bully a self-driving car, as it will always yield. Will probably have a manual override that requires continuous press for hardcore lane changes."

Watch the videos posted on YouTube by Jasper Nuyens below and judge for yourself how assertive (or not) the Autopilot is. What we'd like to know, however, is if the car also moves back into its lane, because it fails to do so in the footage. It would still mean we're a while away from fully-automated overtaking.

Further Reading

White Tesla Model X
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Read our full review on the 2018 Tesla Model X.

Read our full review on the 2018 Tesla Model 3.

Read our full review on the 2012 Tesla Model S.