Watch: Tesla Model X Autopilot Avoids Traffic Cones, Construction While Recognizing Makeshift Lane

Magical. What better word is there to describe that soothing feeling of safely relaxing behind the wheel of your Tesla Model X while its “Navigate on Autopilot” allows you to effortlessly change lanes, and avoid traffic cones and other highway obstacles.

Introduced in the U.S. in November 2018 as a beta version, Navigate on Autopilot is probably Tesla’s most advanced driver-assist feature yet. It can do automatic lane changes and on-ramp to off-ramp maneuvers, among other nifty features.

Experts claim Navigate on Autopilot is a major move towards Tesla long-cherished ambition to achieve fully-autonomous driving capabilities. It seems evident Tesla is still moving in this direction since it transferred Navigate on Autopilot to its Full Self-Driving suite in February 2019. Before this, Navigate on Autopilot was inside Enhanced Autopilot.

One enthusiastic Tesla owner described Navigate on Autopilot as a subtle improvement, but one more actively and aggressively engaged in the core aspects of driving. He remarked Navigate on Autopilot is like Waze on steroids.

The feature offers all the necessary step-by-step navigational help needed by a driver. And, with the permission of the driver, it executes those maneuvers by itself.

It should be pointed out Navigate on Autopilot only works on divided highways. It warns drivers to take control when exiting through a distance countdown (400 feet… 300 feet… 200 feet), after which Navigate on Autopilot automatically disables.

And how does Navigate on Autopilot do in real-world driving?

The astounding capabilities of Navigate on Autopilot were recently shared by two Tesla owners. One of whom posted a YouTube video of a trip in his Model X through Carlisle in the western part of the United Kingdom.

The video shows the Model X safely and effortlessly driving along a section of highway under construction. This section sported a mass of traffic cones and makeshift lanes.

This video was shared by an owner with the handle, Tesla Driver. He also runs a popular U.K.-based YouTube channel.

Tesla Driver was testing Tesla’s driver-assist feature and its Navigate on Autopilot system through Carlisle when the Model X came across a section of the road with multiple traffic cones that formed a makeshift lane.

Tesla Driver said that much to his surprise, Navigate on Autopilot was able to detect the traffic cones. It recognized the space between the cones, and saw the area as a lane instead of the actual painted lines on the road.

Tesla Driver’s experience with Navigate echoes that of a Model 3 owner from Indiana who also encountered a long stretch of highway under construction. This man said despite the entire section of the road having no lane lines and one side of the road being marked by traffic barrels, Navigate on Autopilot was able to clear this potentially hazardous without any issues.