Electric vehicle manufacturer Tesla has said in a recent announcement that it is now offering free trials of its autopilot software on Model S and Model X cars. The free trials give the owners of Model S and Model X cars a chance to test autopilot without paying the standard $2,500 fee for the software.

According to the announcement made by Tesla, the free trials of autopilot software are now available for owners of Model S and Model X cars manufactured after September 2014. The Model S and Model X cars which have been manufactured after the mentioned date are already equipped with a radar system, as well as sensors and a front-facing camera positioned close to the rear-view mirror.

The autopilot software was rolled out by Tesla in October 2015. The software gives the Tesla cars the ability to parallel park, steer, and shift lanes on highways.

In addition, the autopilot software can also "be summoned" with nominal input from the driver, by relying on computer software and hardware. The software also comes with a warning system for side collisions and several other safety features.

The autopilot software is generally offered by Tesla only to customers who pay the $2,500 additional fee for an over-the-air download of the software. However, as a part of the free autopilot trial, Model S and Model X users who have not paid the stipulated fee for the software can now download it 'for free' and test it out for one month.