Tesla is no stranger to choosing interesting names for the various performance driving modes in its cars. Its Model S and Model X feature modes named “Insane” and “Ludicrous.” The company CEO Elon Musk has revealed that the upcoming Tesla Semi truck is going to have an equally interesting name for a mode, it’s going to feature a “Mad Max” mode.
A tweet gained a lot of traction last November in which someone pasted a photo of the Tesla Semi into a promotional photo for the movie Mad Max: Fury Road. Musk has now replied to that tweet, confirming that the Semi does have a Mad Max mode. He has even tweeted an image of the menu option itself.
However, unlike Insane and Ludicrous modes which enhance the performance, the Mad Max mode is for the truck’s Blind Spot Threshold settings. It will be used to determine how careful the truck is when it’s changing lanes with Autopilot activated.
Drivers on the road can exploit a flaw in the programming of self-driving cars by simply refusing the yield which will force the car to yield. This will lead to a Tesla Semi finding it difficult to change lanes in standard modes even when there’s an opening but other drivers on the road are not being cooperative.
The truck will be able to find its way around that with Max Mode mode enabled. Musk says that this option is currently available for Tesla Semi prototypes and that production models will have a similar solution as well.
It’s real pic.twitter.com/L9h3F86Guo
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 25, 2018
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