Tesla Motors, the American electric car manufacturer, released its new software version on Wednesday that enables autopilot feature. It will be available for customers in the U.S. from Thursday, while European and Asian owners will have to wait a bit longer.

“I think this is going to be quite a profound experience for people,” said Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk at a press event. “I think it’s going to change people’s perceptions of the future, quite rightly.”

Since last October, Tesla began furnishing Model S with hardware to facilitate the introduction of self-driving technology - a forward radar, a forward-looking camera, 12 long-range ultrasonic sensors positioned to sense 16 feet around the car in every direction at all speeds, and a high-precision digitally-controlled electric assist braking system.

“Digital control of motors, brakes, and steering helps avoid collisions from the front and sides, as well as preventing the car from wandering off the road. Your car can also scan for a parking space, alert you when one is available, and parallel park on command”, said Tesla.

The latest Tesla Version 7.0 software release allows the above mentioned tools to deliver a range of new active safety and convenience features, designed to work in conjunction with the automated driving capabilities already offered in Model S, the company said. The Model X shouldn't be far behind as it is equipped with the same sensors.

“Autopilot allows Model S to steer within a lane, change lanes with the simple tap of a turn signal, and manage speed by using active, traffic-aware cruise control”, Tesla said in a blog post.

However, Musk stressed that the software is young and urged drivers to exercise caution with the self-driving features.

“We tell drivers to keep their hands on the wheel just in case, to exercise caution in the beginning,” Musk said. “Over time, long term, you won’t have to keep your hands on the wheel—we explicitly describe this as beta.”