Elon Musk apologizes for Tesla's quirky auto wipers, hints at improvements

Tesla’s vehicles like the Model 3 and Model Y are praised for many of their automated functions. Their auto wipers is typically not among them.

Tesla rolled out automatic windshield wipers for its Autopilot 2 hardware vehicles in early 2018, but the feature never really got refined to the point where it was bulletproof. This was one of the reasons why even today, complaints or observations about the quirks of Tesla’s auto wipers can be found on social media platforms such as Twitter.

One such complaint was highlighted by longtime Tesla owner and FSD Beta tester @TesLatino, who retweeted a video of a fellow Tesla owner dubbing the automatic wiper function “stupid and quite annoying.” The Tesla owner could not really be faulted for the harsh comment, as the video showed the vehicle’s automatic wipers engaging during an otherwise clear day. The FSD Beta tester then asked Musk if Tesla could at least allow owners to cancel the automatic wiper function while Autopilot is engaged.

Sorry, this is one of the last neural nets to be updated to surround video (from single camera, single frame)

Musk responded to the request, and the CEO actually apologized for the feature’s subpar performance. Musk explained that automatic wipers are one of the last neural networks to be updated to surround video, so improvements to the feature should be noticeable in future updates. “Sorry, this is one of the last neural nets to be updated to surround video (from single camera, single frame),” Musk wrote.

Tesla owners have suggested a number of improvements to automatic wipers to make the feature better. Apart from allowing drivers to disable the feature while Autopilot or FSD is engaged, members of the r/TeslaModel3 subreddit have also noted that it would be good for the electric vehicle maker to make it an option so that the left control wheel on the steering wheel could directly control the wipers. Considering Elon Musk’s recent comment, Tesla owners could look forward to some improvements to the feature.

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