Tesla is now offering owners of its Model S and Model X electric cars the chance to test its semi-autonomous Autopilot feature. The hardware suite has been included in all its electric vehicles (EVs) produced since October 2014. Tesla's $2,500 package includes features such as automatic highway steering and active cruise control.    

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The Autopilot hardware is already installed in new Tesla vehicles. However, if car shoppers choose to activate the feature after buying a new car they can get an over-the-air software update later for $3,000. The 1-month Autopilot trial gives Tesla car owners the chance to add the semi-autonomous features after buying their EV.

An image has surfaced of a pop-up message on the Model S screen, according to Elektrek. It offers a 1-month trial to try out the Autopilot Convenience Features package including the new self-parking feature in January's Summon update. This allows Tesla owners to auto-park their autos and summon them from garages.

It remains to be seen how many Tesla owners will add the future after the original configuration of their all-electric car. However, since the price tag is around 3 to 5 percent of the car's cost it is possible many Tesla owners could add the feature after testing Autopilot.

In related news, Tesla's Autopilot system recently prevented a car crash involving an Ohio Model S owner. The vehicle took over when a heavy truck almost side-swiped Joshua Brown's Tesla sedan.

He explains in a YouTube video that he was driving on the interstate. When a lift truck drove on a joining road on the left, it merged right and tried to drive onto the exit ramp, but did not see the Tesla car, according to Market Watch.

Brown's Tesla alerted him of the danger with the "immediately take over" warning chime. It then swerved right to avoid a car accident.

Last summer Tesla CEO Elon Musk shared that the company was almost ready to test autonomous vehicles (AVs) on highways and self-parallel parking. Model S cars already include forward radar, rear-view mirror camera, and 12 sensors that pick up nearby objects that are within 16 feet (4.9 meters) of the automobile.

However, CarBuzz posted a video of a 70-year-old woman who had problems using the Autopilot feature: