By: Otaiba Ahsan

If you drive a Tesla for the first time, then you know how smooth the car is. In fact, several owners have shared with me that they often cruise at high speeds without noticing how fast they’re going. Of course, this can be problematic, as even though you’re unintentionally going too fast, it can be dangerous for others, and it also puts you at risk of having a run-in with the police. Lucky for you, Tesla has the Speed Assist feature that can come in handy for these situations. Continue for steps on how to use Speed Assist for your Tesla.

What is Speed Assist?

When driving, your Tesla will display a speed limit on the touchscreen. For example, if you start your journey and pass a 60 km/h sign, this will also always show on-screen so that you’re aware of what the limit is.

Speed Assist allows you to choose if and how you would like to be warned when you begin to exceed the speed limit. You can base warnings on an arbitrary speed limit that you enter manually. You can make the warning a display message or a chime.

NOTE: If you’re using the Traffic-Aware Cruise Control, you can touch the speed limit sign to change your set cruising speed to the detected speed limit.

In situations where your Tesla cannot determine a speed limit or is uncertain about its accuracy, the touchscreen may not display a speed limit sign and warnings don’t take effect.

How to Use Speed Assist

To adjust the Speed Assist settings, tap Controls > Autopilot > Speed Limit Warning, then choose one of the following options:

Off: This will make it so that speed limit warnings aren’t displayed, and chimes don’t go off.
Display: Speed limit signs will display on the touchscreen as usual, and the sign increases in size when you exceed the determined limit.
Chime: In addition to the visual display, a chime is sounded when you go over the determined limit.

NOTE: Speed limit warnings go away after 10 seconds, or when your vehicle slows down below the specified limit.

Lastly, you can also specify how the speed limit is determined:

Relative: You can set a speed limit offset, such as + or -, if you wish to be alerted only when you exceed the offset speed limit by a specified amount. For example, you can set it to +10 km/h if you’d only like to be warned when you’re 10 over the limit.
Absolute: In this setting, you can specify any speed limit between 30 and 240 km/h.

Speed Assist Limitations

Speed Assist in certain situations may not be fully functional or provides inaccurate information, this includes:

Poor visibility causing the speed limit signs to not be clear. This can be during heavy rain, snow, and fog.
Bright lights from oncoming headlights or direct sunlight which interfere with the view of the cameras.
There is something obstructing the cameras such as dirt or snow which prevents them from seeing the speed limit signs.

Tesla has a complete list of limitations for your convenience.

The Bottom Line

The steps on how to use Speed Assist for your Tesla are simple. When in your vehicle, tap Controls > Autopilot > Speed Limit Warning. You can then configure your settings to either display a warning or provide one with a chime. Also, you can set whether you’d like these warnings to be relative or absolute.