Tesla Inc. has started rolling out an update to version 9.0 of its software that delivers navigation options to its Autopilot feature.

The Navigate on Autopilot service, available to all Tesla vehicles in the U.S. fitted with enhanced Autopilot or full self-driving capability that are optional extras according to Techcrunch, is described as an active guidance feature that allows vehicles to navigate highways better.

With driver supervision, the update “guides a car from a highway’s on-ramp to off-ramp, including suggesting and making lane changes, navigating highway interchanges and taking exits,” Tesla said in a blog post late Friday. “It’s designed to make finding and following the most efficient path to your destination even easier on the highway when Autopilot is in use.”

Initially, the feature will not offer fully autonomous functionality, with a driver being required to confirm suggested lane changes. But Tesla claimed future versions will allow fully autonomous lane changing when that’s approved by regulators.

The feature is customizable with four settings: Disabled (as in turned off), Mild, Average and the unfortunately named Mad Max. Mild allows the feature when the vehicle is traveling more slowly than the set cruise speed, while Mad Max suggests lane changes while traveling just below the set speed.

Tesla claimed it has now collected more than 1 billion miles of real-world driving data from Autopilot since launching the feature in 2015.

But it hasn’t been all plain sailing for the technology. Although there isn’t a full list of Tesla vehicles crashing with Autopilot engaged, at least two people in the U.S. have died while behind the wheel with Autopilot on.

Tesla’s technology was cleared of fault but only in that the drivers were blamed for not paying attention. Tesla argued that it has never claimed that the technology should not be used without full attention from a driver despite its name suggesting otherwise.

The use of the name Autopilot has come to the attention of authorities before. The German government demanded in 2016 that Tesla stop using the name because it “may overstate the feature’s actual capabilities, leading consumers to trust the autopilot more than they should.”

Photo: chijs/Flickr