Tesla upgrades software of Model S

Electric carmaker Tesla Motors Inc is getting a leg up on its competition. It announced over the weekend that it is releasing a software upgrade over-the-air to its current Model S owners.

It's a unique ability that other automakers are expected to offer within a few years.

The Silicon Valley-based company has completed more than a dozen over-the-air software upgrades since the Model S was first sold in mid-2012, said Egil Juliussen, director of research for automotive electronic technology for IHS Automotive.

For the current upgrade, Tesla Model S owners will be notified of the availability of it and will be asked to select a time for it to be downloaded, which takes several hours, Tesla spokeswoman Alexis Georgeson said.

Juliussen said other automakers have completed some over-the-air software upgrades but only on an experimental basis.

About 30,000 vehicles have been updated over the air this year, almost all by Tesla.

By 2020, about 22 million new vehicles globally will have the ability to accept software upgrades over-the-air, he said.

Juliussen said by 2015, over-the-air software upgrades to cars already in consumer hands will expand to 230,000 and reach 1 million in 2016.