With electric vehicle manufacturer Tesla Motors having announced on Sunday that it is updating its controversial Autopilot feature to bring significant changes to the way it works, the announcement has drawn positive reviews from some analysts who are of the opinion that the changes will be better for driver safety as well as for Tesla’s future.

The software update, unfolding Autopilot version 8.0, will be automatically installed in Tesla vehicles all across the world in the coming weeks. The updated version of Autopilot will enable the technology to avoid crashes, as it will be able to “see” the road ahead much better, by relying primarily on the radar system and ultrasonic sensors, and not just the cameras.

The update to the Autopilot technology by Tesla has come against the backdrop of the fatal Florida crash, this May, of a driver – named Joshua Brown – who was using the Autopilot mode on his Tesla Model S car.

About Tesla’s move to update Autopilot on its vehicles, Jessica Caldwell -- senior analyst with the automotive site Edmunds.com -- said: “This is something that needed to happen from Tesla. That accident had to be addressed.”

Describing the Autopilot update as a move by Tesla to “remain ahead” of the industry in semi-autonomous driving features for currently-available vehicles, technology strategy firm Enderle Group’s president Rob Enderle said that “Tesla has the most advanced automated cruise-control system on the market,” and added that the Autopilot improvements “make the system better.”