German court bans Tesla ad statements related to autonomous driving

Post by rzzzt » Tue, Jul 14, 2020, 4:27 PM UTC

NeutronStar wrote: post #19

dkonofalski wrote: post #3

I agree with this wholeheartedly, even as a Tesla owner. Tesla goofed from the beginning by calling tech like "Autosteer" and "Traffic Assisted Cruise Control" under the moniker "Autopilot" while shifting everything above that to "Full Self-Driving". They should have called it "CoPilot" since that infers that you're still the driver in charge of controlling the vehicle and it would have had exactly the same reception…

The issue is one of definition. I don't know why people associate autopilot with a definition that isn't autopilot. An autopilot is a system used to control the trajectory of an aircraft, marine craft or spacecraft without requiring constant manual control by a human operator. Autopilot does not replace human operators. Instead, autopilot assists the operator's control of the vehicle, allowing the operator to focus o…

Post by londons_explore » Tue, Jul 14, 2020, 4:29 PM UTC

xinsight wrote: post #22

mrtksn wrote: post #13

This was probably the most brilliant advertising scheme of all times. Tesla is not just an electric car, it's the self driving car brand - even if it doesn't actually do that. I believe banning this kind of advertisement will only cement Tesla's image as the "Self Driving Car company" as no other company would be able to replicate it. People will continue to post memes about self driving Teslas but no one else would…

Or it backfires when people realize their newly purchased, expensive car doesn't do what they thought it could do. Tesla is not managing expectations well.

Post by [deleted] » Tue, Jul 14, 2020, 4:30 PM UTC

catalogia wrote: post #14

chrisseaton wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> They should have called it "CoPilot" [rather than "AutoPilot"] Huh but a co-pilot is much more capable than an auto-pilot system. An auto-pilot mostly keeps you level, going the right speed, and pointing in the right direction, and can do some limited landing and things. That sounds to me exactly like what Tesla's system does? A co-pilot is a human who can take complete control from you for the rest of the whole fl…

The problem with this line of reasoning is that the general public has an inaccurate understanding of what airplane autopilots are capable of. The belief that modern airline pilots just push a button to turn on the plane then take a nap until the plane lands is widespread. In naming their system after a system the public has a poor understanding of, Tesla is being misleading.

Post by catalogia » Tue, Jul 14, 2020, 4:31 PM UTC

chrisseaton wrote: post #30

catalogia wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Some can land in some conditions. However take off is still done by pilots in everything other than a few experimental aircraft.

> Some can land in some conditions. So... a bit like a Tesla parking itself in some conditions?

Post by zmk_ » Tue, Jul 14, 2020, 4:32 PM UTC

NeutronStar wrote: post #19

dkonofalski wrote: post #3

I agree with this wholeheartedly, even as a Tesla owner. Tesla goofed from the beginning by calling tech like "Autosteer" and "Traffic Assisted Cruise Control" under the moniker "Autopilot" while shifting everything above that to "Full Self-Driving". They should have called it "CoPilot" since that infers that you're still the driver in charge of controlling the vehicle and it would have had exactly the same reception…

The issue is one of definition. I don't know why people associate autopilot with a definition that isn't autopilot. An autopilot is a system used to control the trajectory of an aircraft, marine craft or spacecraft without requiring constant manual control by a human operator. Autopilot does not replace human operators. Instead, autopilot assists the operator's control of the vehicle, allowing the operator to focus o…