Tesla’s autopilot constantly falls into “Paragraph 22” style situations.
Although he constantly calls it “autopilot”, Elon Musk emphasizes that this is officially autonomous control software. The company claims that the software in question is becoming more accurate, but more and more accidents are being investigated.
And last but not least – Tesla released an improved version of the autopilot, and then banned some of its customers from using it.
The autonomous control system for electric vehicles has undergone two major updates – one in October last year and one in early March.
The first software update reached a specially selected group of “Tesla enthusiasts” and was widely touted as another step towards fully self-driving cars. Musk described the update as a “quantum leap” in autonomous driving, although even his avid fans do not take such statements very seriously. In 2016, the entrepreneur said that next year a Tesla car will be able to travel from New York to Los Angeles entirely on autopilot. The year is 2021 and something like that still sounds like science fiction …
On the other hand, since October the company has managed to gather enough feedback on its new, supposedly improved software, and the opinions are not flattering at all.
–
–
There is information about electric cars that do not follow their lanes, surprisingly start the wipers or headlights and even cases in which the whole system just at one point fails and the car stops on the spot.
“I’m not drunk, the car is to blame,” said one of the injured drivers, somewhat jokingly.
Instead of urgently starting work to improve the overall user experience, however, Tesla is making another surprising and not very satisfying move – removing some of its customers from the autopilot software testing program in question.
Their justification is that the drivers in question “did not pay enough attention on the road”, CNN clarifies.
It is not yet clear exactly how many electric car owners have suddenly found themselves without access to the autonomous driving system, but it is clear that Tesla’s response to calls for the brand to seriously reconsider its standards, especially in the field of car self-management. you are.
However, Elon Musk’s company gives two clarifications on the case. The first is that the new software is still in beta and will still be improved. The answer is directly directed against the accusations that there will never be a fully autonomous car and it is most reasonable for Tesla and its competitors to abandon the idea of such.
Tesla’s second statement is that no traffic accident has been registered with the current software anyway. That is why this March the company boldly continues to recruit volunteers to experience the “completely self-governing system”.
–
–
–
–
The problem is that the statement about the complete absence of incidents with this software was true, but only until March 11.
On that date in Detroit, a Tesla sedan crashed into a truck with a trailer. The accident became clear only on March 16, when Reuters reported the accident and added that the electric car was with the disputed autopilot software, and the driver was hospitalized in critical condition.
The driver of the truck is also in serious condition and is not sure that he will survive.
The US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is yet to investigate the cause of the crash. It is not yet known whether the Tesla driver used the self-driving system in question at the time of the accident, but judging by the feedback from dissatisfied customers, it is quite possible that this is the case.
The administration insists that until the circumstances are clarified, the company should come out and state categorically that “autonomous car” does not mean “autopilot car” and that the capabilities of electric cars remain quite modest in this regard.
For now, a car Tesla can independently change lanes, park and identify traffic lights and more popular road signs.
Everything else at the moment remains in the realm of science fiction and Musk’s dreams, even if it is the innovative beta version of the software. The entrepreneur himself persists in insisting that his car system can in no way be to blame for a road accident, let alone a fatal one.
–
–
–
–
– .
