Photo: Warner Bros.
When it comes to unique and outlandish ideas, Tesla CEO Elon Musk is no stranger to going overboard. So it only makes sense he would go above and beyond in regards to the company’s newest autonomous vehicle.
Case in point, Musk has been teasing Tesla’s prototype electric cargo hauler for weeks. The electric, battery-powered semi-truck will not only drive itself, but comes with what is being called a “Mad Max” mode, based off the popular post-apocalyptic 1979 Mel Gibson film. So what exactly is the “Mad Max” mode?
According to Elon Musk, users will have the option to enable the mode, which will engage the Autopilot’s blind spot threshold. Musk did not elaborate on what that meant. However, judging by the settings in the picture he posted on his Twitter account, most are assuming “Mad Max” mode will allow the autonomous vehicle to switch lanes more aggressively than the standard option.
It’s real pic.twitter.com/L9h3F86Guo
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 25, 2018
It’s believed the “Max Max” setting will be useful in tight traffic situations one would experience on a freeway where lane changing can be rather difficult.
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Musk, who owns multiple homes in the Los Angeles area, seemingly took inspiration from the notorious Southern California traffic jams. He jokingly suggested they almost added an additional mode named after the City of Angels.
“We considered going beyond ‘Mad Max’ to ‘LA Freeway’ level, but that’s too loco,” he added in a tweet.
Tesla Semi will accelerate from 0 to 60 m.p.h. in 20 seconds while carrying 80,000 pounds, according to the automaker. It can also travel 300 to 500 miles in one charge.
