Tesla can be said to be a pioneer in the electric vehicle industry, and also one of the only carmakers who are actively coming up with new and innovative ideas to change the automotive landscape. In classic Tesla style, they launched a brand new feature in their latest software update; the Smart Summon.

Now, Smart Summon is exactly as advertised, the feature allows drivers to call the car to come to them via the Tesla app. If you’re in a private parking lot or driveway and no more than 200 feet away from your car, you can pull out your phone, navigate through the Tesla app, and press COME TO ME. The car will then, hopefully, come to you.

However, as with all things new, there are some kinks along the way. The feature demands users follow specific instructions and pay lots of attention to their car’s surroundings because while its name may suggest otherwise, the Smart Summon still needs plenty of work on being smart. Like Tesla’s other impressive automated driving feature, the Autopilot, Smart Summon is meant to be used only in very specific situations. If something goes wrong because you’re not paying attention, well, according to the feature’s release notes, that’s on you.

“Be prepared to stop the vehicle quickly,” Tesla warns its users in an ad posted to social media. The release notes for the feature also state that Smart Summon “may not detect all obstacles.”

Tesla fans have been uploading hilarious videos of Smart Summon in action, with plenty of bloopers to show off the other side of this new feature. Most notably, there are plenty of videos which show fender-benders caused in crowded parking spots, the fact that the Smart Summon sees grass as roads, and more frustrating kinks that may put people off from trying the new feature.

Still, there are those moments in which the Smart Summon feature isn’t just used as a party trick. Imagine it’s raining and you don’t have an umbrella. It would be fantastic if the car was able to come directly to you rather than the other way around. Or if you have your hands full of groceries after shopping and don’t want to walk all the way to where you parked. It’s these little issues that make the Smart Summon so enticing to users, even if they have to keep a closer eye on their car to make sure it isn’t going rogue.

With the launching of the Smart Summon, it seems as though Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s dream of building a fleet of self-driving cars is slowly coming true, but experts believe otherwise.

“If Tesla is having some trouble in an uncontrolled situation, and that feature is far from perfection, then Tesla having full self-driving cars at the end of next year? I can only laugh at that,” says Raj Rajkumar, who studies autonomous technology at Carnegie Mellon University.

“One large hurdle for Tesla’s self-driving ambitions is driving speed,” he continues, and adds that building a car that can quickly “see” and then “react” to sudden road obstacles, might be a matter of life or death.

But as with all new technology, the best advice we can give is to read the instructions.

What do you think of this Smart Summon feature? Leave a comment below!

New Driving Experience with ‘Smart Summon’ Feature