Consumer Reports- Tesla's Autopilot: Too Much Autonomy Too Soon

[nationalize the fed]

Consumer Reports calls for Tesla to disable hands-free operation until its system can be made safer

By Consumer Reports July 14, 2016

Following a series of crashes, one of which was fatal, Tesla Motors, the automaker known for its high-performance electric vehicles and envelope-pushing technology, is now under intense scrutiny for the way it deployed and marketed its Autopilot driving-assist system.



The company’s aggressive roll-out of self-driving technology—in what it calls a “beta-test”—is forcing safety agencies and automakers to reassess the basic relationship between human drivers and their increasingly sophisticated cars. Last week, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) sent a letter to Tesla requesting detailed information about Autopilot, including any design changes and updates to the system, as well as detailed logs of when the system has prompted drivers to take over steering...snip

...The Florida crash has prompted investigations by NHTSA and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). Meanwhile, The Wall Street Journal reported the Securities and Exchange Commission is investigating whether Tesla failed to tell investors about the crash in a timely fashion.

While the exact cause of the fatal accident is not yet known, the incident has caused safety advocates, including Consumer Reports, to question whether the name Autopilot, as well as the marketing hype of its roll-out, promoted a dangerously premature assumption that the Model S was capable of truly driving on its own. Tesla’s own press release for the system announced “Your Autopilot has arrived” and promised to relieve drivers “of the most tedious and potentially dangerous aspects of road travel.” But the release also states that the driver “is still responsible for, and ultimately in control of, the car.”...snip
Read More: http://www.consumerreports.org/tesla/tesla-autopilot-too-much-autonomy-too-soon/

Road and Track: Now a Third Tesla Crash Is Being Blamed on Autopilot

BRIAN SILVESTRO JUL 11, 2016

...Since the system was not designed for roads without adequate lane markers, it's possible that the Autopilot system may have disengaged on the fly due to lack of visual data. It's also possible that the driver was not paying attention when the car disengaged Autopilot, and was not able to react fast enough to avoid the crash...
http://www.roadandtrack.com/new-cars/news/a29913/yet-another-tesla-model-x-crash-blamed-on-autopilot/

SEC Investigating Tesla for Possible Securities-Law Breach

Authorities probing whether auto maker should have disclosed Autopilot-related crash to investors

WSJ July 11, 2016

The Securities and Exchange Commission is investigating whether Tesla Motors Inc. breached securities laws by failing to disclose to investors a fatal crash in May involving an electric car that was driving itself, a person familiar with the matter said, heightening scrutiny of how the company handled the information...

...The SEC is scrutinizing whether Tesla should have disclosed the accident as a “material” event, or a development a reasonable investor would consider important, according to the person familiar with the matter. The SEC’s inquiry is in a very early stage and may not lead to any enforcement action by regulators, the person said....
http://www.wsj.com/articles/sec-investigating-tesla-for-possible-securities-law-breach-1468268385

[Jerry442]

1. Whatever happened to the product liability crisis?

Remember, not too long ago, when manufacturers were supposedly inhibited from rolling out innovative new products because they were afraid of ridiculous lawsuits? Seems to me that a company that sells a car with a feature that was almost certain to be directly responsible for deaths and injuries would have feared being sued off the face of the Earth, but clearly they weren't.

[nationalize the fed]

3. Probably just a coincidence...

VP Turnover Continues at Tesla With Lawyer’s Departure

April 18, 2016

Business would seem to be booming at Tesla Motors Inc: Earlier this month, it announced that demand for the Model 3, coming in 2017, exceeded expectations, so it is boosting production.

And yet it’s losing executives, including most recently James Chen, vice president of regulatory affairs and deputy general counsel — and a visible figure on the front line of the company’s push to sell directly to consumers.

Chen did not respond to requests for comment, but on Monday a Tesla spokeswoman confirmed his departure, which was first reported by the clean fuels website Electrek.

His exit comes two months after two other vice presidents left the company.

Michael Zanoni, vice president of finance, returned to Amazon.com in February, to take a job as finance vice president, according to his LinkedIn page. Bloomberg reported in March that Vice President of Global Communication Ricardo Reyes left Tesla after less than 18 months....
https://bol.bna.com/vp-turnover-continues-at-tesla-with-lawyers-departure/



Perhaps selling the idea of autopilot with beta software wasn't such a good idea. But since Musk surrounds himself with yes men- including his cousins that now want to be bailed out of their money losing solar company- there's no one to tell him when one of his ideas is absurd.

[Zorro]

2. Autopilot is just Tesla's marketing name for a sophisticated traffic aware cruise control

and lane awareness technology. It works quite well, but there are known limitations.

It does not mean the car is capable of completely autonomous self-driving, but that technology is coming sooner than later.

[HereSince1628]

4. I hope to hell those things aren't going to be hackable.

It seems all personal electronics are targets of such things.

And it seems pressure for the police to have such capacity would be irresistibly great, almost ensuring that a back-door is built into these systems.