> "Autopilot requires the driver to be alert and have hands on the wheel." By that definition every car I've ever driven has been fully self-driving.
It's called autopilot, not self-driving.
Tesla issues strongest statement yet blaming driver for deadly crash
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Re: Tesla issues strongest statement yet blaming driver for deadly crash
#42Tesla probably shouldn't be saying anything about this at all, even just to avoid giving it more news cycles. But if they were going to say something, here's what they should have said the first time. ---- We take great care in building our cars to save lives. Forty thousands Americans die on the roads each year. That's a statistic. But even a single death of a Tesla driver or passenger is a tragedy. This has affecte…
See my comment here: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16814565
Doesn't your statement admit that Tesla is at least partially at fault? Something their lawyers would probably never allow.
Re: Tesla issues strongest statement yet blaming driver for deadly crash
#43I own a Model X. I love the car in many ways. However, I also think the automation is stupider than a 2 year old. Would you trust a 2 year old to drive your car or to decide when to close your Garage door?
I use the Auto-Steer, only when road is empty, is in a reasonably straight line and I am in the middle lane of at least 3 lane road. Otherwise I don't use it. It might also be fine to use it in stop and go on a divided highway because there is on way you will die at those speeds even if you are in an accident.
But sadly, some people trust the car automation with much more than what it is capable of. This leads to accidents like these. And I would blame Tesla here. Tesla has clearly been misleading in marketing this feature. Not everyone is very savvy and they sometimes take what a company says at face value. I have really smart friends who have seen the AutoPilot link [https://www.tesla.com/autopilot] and think that Tesla already have these advanced features.
In the end Tesla is just slightly more advanced than autonomous features of other manufacturers. However, Tesla claims to be much more advanced than others. Because it claims a lot more credit than it deserves, it's only fair that they also face criticism proportionately when the system fails.
Normally, I am against unnecessary regulation. However in this case, I think it is important to bring regulations around consistent messaging and 3rd party rating for autonomous features from all manufactures. We can't have "Move fast and break things" kill people. It's not the same thing as a social app losing a few posts.
Tesla should rename it's feature to "Drive Assist+" whatever, because that is all it is.
On an ending note - I feel sad that the deceased continued to use Autopilot at this spot, when it was known to them that is has failed at the same spot multiple times. If someone well educated, tech savvy and already aware of the problem can fall for this, I worry that a lot more people might do worse.
Re: Tesla issues strongest statement yet blaming driver for deadly crash
#44This is a very upsetting response. Yes, the driver could have paid more attention, and yes, he shouldn't have activated Autopilot in an area where he knew Tesla's autopilot was not working correctly. However, Tesla calling it "Autopilot" should be no longer allowed. It's clear that it is most certainly not that, and customers are not treating this feature in a careful and cautious fashion, and I do believe that's due…
I see your point on calling it "Autopilot", but if you think about the application of the term in terms of aviation, I think it makes more sense. Autopilot in planes won't land the plane for you. It basically will just keep you at a certain elevation and direction. I think that Tesla's Autopilot function is comparable to planes. That's probably how they will justify it. However there might be a legitimate point in th…
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Re: Tesla issues strongest statement yet blaming driver for deadly crash
#45We need FAA style oversight on self driving cars.
This isn't self-driving, though. It isn't called self-driving.
Re: Tesla issues strongest statement yet blaming driver for deadly crash
#46What exactly is Tesla intending the Autopilot to be used if the driver has to keep hands on the wheel?
Re: Tesla issues strongest statement yet blaming driver for deadly crash
#47This is a very upsetting response. Yes, the driver could have paid more attention, and yes, he shouldn't have activated Autopilot in an area where he knew Tesla's autopilot was not working correctly. However, Tesla calling it "Autopilot" should be no longer allowed. It's clear that it is most certainly not that, and customers are not treating this feature in a careful and cautious fashion, and I do believe that's due…
A big part of being allowed to take your hands off the wheel is probably "how do I detect the hands are on the wheel?". In current S/X with no interior camera the way autopilot works is you have to "yank" the wheel every now and then to prove you have your hands on. Requiring constant "yanking" wouldn't work, and there are often long stretches of roads on highways (where Autopilot is meant to work) that wouldn't requ…
I also don't hold the wheel hard enough, I always get the jiggle the wheel warning ~ 1 min as that's the only way for them to detect. Sometimes if you're so focused on watching cars in other lanes it's easy to miss the slight flashing warning that it starts with. So there is no evidence Walter wasn't paying attention in the past just based on that as most AP users get that.
Re: Tesla issues strongest statement yet blaming driver for deadly crash
#48Tesla probably shouldn't be saying anything about this at all, even just to avoid giving it more news cycles. But if they were going to say something, here's what they should have said the first time. ---- We take great care in building our cars to save lives. Forty thousands Americans die on the roads each year. That's a statistic. But even a single death of a Tesla driver or passenger is a tragedy. This has affecte…
So you would start by quoting Stalin...
Re: Tesla issues strongest statement yet blaming driver for deadly crash
#49Tesla probably shouldn't be saying anything about this at all, even just to avoid giving it more news cycles. But if they were going to say something, here's what they should have said the first time. ---- We take great care in building our cars to save lives. Forty thousands Americans die on the roads each year. That's a statistic. But even a single death of a Tesla driver or passenger is a tragedy. This has affecte…
The problem with releasing statements like this is they can be used against Tesla in court. Anything that seems like an admission of guilt or responsibility will be used against them, which is why we see so little of it.
Re: Tesla issues strongest statement yet blaming driver for deadly crash
#50Earlier quoted context omitted.
I see your point on calling it "Autopilot", but if you think about the application of the term in terms of aviation, I think it makes more sense. Autopilot in planes won't land the plane for you. It basically will just keep you at a certain elevation and direction. I think that Tesla's Autopilot function is comparable to planes. That's probably how they will justify it. However there might be a legitimate point in th…
Aviation autopilots handle flying duties in a giant expanse of open sky. It's a way, way easier job to do than navigating a highway from behind a steering wheel. So even if the "capabilities" may be comparable between the two systems, the amount of supervision they require is not, so I don't think they should use the term. It may be "lane-keeping cruise control" isn't nearly as sexy, but it doesn't establish unrealis…
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