Tesla says it's improving Autopilot by boosting radar
By BREE FOWLER, Associated Press
Sep 11, 2016 3:01 PM CDT
FILE - In this Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2015, file photo, Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla Motors Inc., talks during a news conference at the company's headquarters in Fremont, Calif. Musk said Sunday, Sept. 11, 2016, the electric car company is making major improvements to the Autopilot system used by its vehicles,...   (Associated Press)

NEW YORK (AP) — Tesla CEO Elon Musk says the electric car company is making major improvements to the Autopilot system used by its vehicles, which will dramatically reduce the number and severity of crashes they're involved in.

Sunday's news comes in the wake of a May crash involving a Tesla Model S that was using the semi-autonomous mode at the time. The driver died after crashing into a tractor-trailer.

Musk says Tesla vehicles will rely more on radar and less on cameras. And that radar will use more advanced signal processing to create a picture of the world.

Tesla's Autopilot system can maintain a set speed, keep the car within its lane and brake automatically. Radar helps the car see things that may be blocked to cameras in bright sunlight or bad weather.