When $Tesla, Inc.(TSLA.US)$ first revealed its refreshed Model S and X vehicles, many were confused on the lack of traditional stalks near the steering wheel. While these normally control the windshield wipers, headlights and gear shifting, Tesla had other ideas.
Tesla's refreshed vehicles would bring auto-shift functionality to the S and X, meaning the car would automatically detect if you needed to be in drive or reverse, and select that gear for you based on the context around you. Since all new Tesla vehicles come with similar hardware for self driving (cameras and ultrasonic sensors), it made sense this ability could be brought to any vehicle.
See Also: Tesla Launches Full Self Driving Subscription Package At $199 Per Month, Aims To Deliver Level 5 Full Self-Driving System
What Happened: Now CEO Elon Musk has shared on Twitter that all Tesla vehicles with the Full Self Driving software option (a $10,000 option) will receive an update to enable the auto-detect shifting setting. This means owners simply need to get into the car and put their foot on the brake, and the car will intelligently select what gear is needed before heading off to the destination.
You don’t even need to touch the shifter in new S. Auto detect direction will come as an optional setting to all cars with FSD.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 19, 2021
Why It's Important: Tesla is working towards full autonomy, with its FSD Beta programming slowly progressing, making owners' cars better at driving themselves over time (although Tesla notes the vehicles are not yet fully autonomous).
This feature will bring one more benefit to those that opt to pay the additional money for the still unfinished software package, possibly leading to Tesla selling more cars with this add-on.