Consumer Reports Calls On Tesla to Disable Autopilot

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Do you agree with Consumer Reports' call for Tesla's Autopilot to be disabled? I mean, we all know you are a moron if you fall asleep or watch a movie while Autopilot "drives," but it might be in Tesla's best interest as far as lawsuits and bad publicity goes.

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.
 
I say keep the feature on. Just cause a few idiots did some stupid stuff, doesn't mean it should be canned. It's probably the other auto companies that are upset that Tesla has a feature they don't have. Get the new Toyota, Chevy, Honda, Ford that's best in class at nothing new.
 
DukenukemX said:
I say keep the feature on. Just cause a few idiots did some stupid stuff, doesn't mean it should be canned. It's probably the other auto companies that are upset that Tesla has a feature they don't have. Get the new Toyota, Chevy, Honda, Ford that's best in class at nothing new.
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But this years model has a different tail light lens!
 
People get in accidents without help from self-driving features every day, and no one at Consumer Reports wants them disabled...why the discrimination?
 
I wonder if they did the same when the first cruise controls were installed. If anything I'd call on tesla to not call it autopilot but something more appropriate like advanced lane assist.
 
M76 said:
I wonder if they did the same when the first cruise controls were installed. If anything I'd call on tesla to not call it autopilot but something more appropriate like advanced lane assist.
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But after reading the article, their demands are actually reasonable, and they don't want them to completely disable the feature, so again stupid clickbait title.

Consumer Reports calls for Tesla to do the following:
  • Disable Autosteer until it can be reprogrammed to require drivers to keep their hands on the steering wheel
  • Stop referring to the system as “Autopilot” as it is misleading and potentially dangerous

  • Issue clearer guidance to owners on how the system should be used and its limitations

  • Test all safety-critical systems fully before public deployment; no more beta releases
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The only thing I'd add is keeping both your hands on the wheel all the time is unreasonable. I'd say disable the system if the driver takes off both hands for longer than 10 seconds. But forcing you to hug the wheel like some sunday driver defeats the purpose.
 
They should leave it on, and unless there is adequate evidence showing that autopilot, when used properly is unsafe in a court of law. No one can make them disable it.

I think at this point what Tesla should do is release a full report stating all the facts about the two accidents unlike what the media is doing. This would clearly show that both drivers were at fault due to not correctly operating autopilot and even without autopilot. The one drive watching a DVD player on his lap would have had the same outcome in a normal car.
 
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Is it ConsumerReports or is it ConsumerInvolvment ?

Everybody wants to change the world ........ and think it's their responsibility to do it ...... the way they would like it ........ with no regard that others might disagree.
 
I don't think they should disable it but they do need to better train the people buying there cars on the limits of what the system can do and what it's for. Maybe making it more apparent that the system assists the driver and doesn't replace him. But at the end of the day it's on the driver of the vehicle to be responsible and not be a moron behind the wheel of a moving vehicle.
 
There are accidents all day every day. Im about to head home and likely will have to go around one on the way there (hope to not be involved in one). So thus far humans hit other humans constantly. With this evidence I feel humans should be removed entirely from being allowed to drive. Clearly a car with no automation and no human driver will be less prone to accidents, it only increases in chance of collision when we put a human created program to control it or a human behind the wheel. Just saying. Drive safe gents!
 
Not real happy with teslas response, you don't f*ck with CR.
While we appreciate well-meaning advice from any individual or group, we make our decisions on the basis of real-world data, not speculation by media​
 
Simply rename it from "auto-pilot" to "driving assist", and have it disengage if you take your hands off the steering wheel via a little sensor, with a safety alert somewhere on that gigantic LCD panel on top in yellow perhaps that says "driving assist is not a autopilot please keep your eyes on the road".

Edit: Oops, should have read the rest of this thread before posting. I agree 100% with Consumer Reports:

Consumer Reports calls for Tesla to do the following:
  • Disable Autosteer until it can be reprogrammed to require drivers to keep their hands on the steering wheel
  • Stop referring to the system as “Autopilot” as it is misleading and potentially dangerous

  • Issue clearer guidance to owners on how the system should be used and its limitations

  • Test all safety-critical systems fully before public deployment; no more beta releases
 
Jim Kim said:
Not real happy with teslas response, you don't f*ck with CR.
While we appreciate well-meaning advice from any individual or group, we make our decisions on the basis of real-world data, not speculation by media​
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I kind of agree with them though. Thank you for using our mistakes to profit off of by publishing articles, but how about until you develop systems even remotely close to this, shut the **** up and go back to telling consumers which childrens toys they should buy this xmas.

But yea, it might be a bit early for a public beta. Maybe closed beta or alpha you have to sign up for lol.
 
Elon Musk already said Telsa has no plans to disable autopilot. And that they are still working hard on making it better every update.

The only part I even kind of agree with is that it perhaps shouldn't be called "autopilot". Advanced Steering, maybe. Autopilot would be a fine word for it if it wasn't for the impression that this word means you can not pay attention and not crash, but aircraft have already defined the term to mean just that.

P,s.: Blame Autopilot!
 
Darunion said:
But this years model has a different tail light lens!
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omg-amazing-meme.gif
 
NickJames said:
Oh no, a handful of seeds are bad, well time to plow the field and salt the earth.
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Not to mention that a few of the incidents have been found to be false. The one last week where a Tesla hit a guardrail was shown to be driver error (autopilot disengaged), as he likely fell asleep.

The major one (death by semi trailer) is likely real. The others were probably people who wrecked their Tesla's and then stupidly thought "oh, well I can probably jump on the autopilot-at-fault bandwagon.

I guess the Tesla AP does check for driver awareness. If your hand leaves the wheel, it begins to alert (audible and visual) before pulling over and disengaging autopilot. In the guardrail one, apparently the logs show the AP began to pull over, when the driver took control and went into manual mode (back onto the road) and then crashed shortly after. A fix for that might be to have the car complete the process of pulling over and stopping. That would allow the driver to get their bearings a bit.
 
We're gonna have to rename it at some point, perhaps this can be referred to as "Bruise Control" or something. ;)

Do I agree that it should be disabled? Sure, why the hell not, but my position has been stated a few times now: if you're behind the wheel of a vehicle I believe you should be the one in control at pretty much all times. I'd never make use of such technology and if I ever find myself in a vehicle that has it (unlikely) and the "driver" decides to kick it into action I'll pretty much immediately tell 'em to pull over and let me out.
 
Tiberian said:
I'd never make use of such technology and if I ever find myself in a vehicle that has it (unlikely) and the "driver" decides to kick it into action I'll pretty much immediately tell 'em to pull over and let me out.
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Your pilot is not going to pull over. If this tech can be trusted with 283 people in a pressurized tube 5 miles up, I'm sure it will be fine on the earths surface.
 
Call it "adaptive cruise control" like everyone else does. And fix the hands-on monitoring to warn every 15 seconds like every other brand does. The only problem with this feature is the marketing, not the actual feature.
 
If they make them change from Autopilot to another name, then someone should force Mercedes to change Magic Body Control to something else too. Because I was very disappointed to learn there was no actual magic or sorcery involved.
 
I can't blame auto pilot for stupid people. Like that guy that was in the passenger seat doing 70 miles an hour on the freeway while his car was on auto pilot. He felt confident of it even in BETA. Evolution didn't quite make with them.
 
OldBuzzard said:
**** Consumer Reports. **** the horse they rode in on. And **** their little dog too!
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Why are you censoring the word "fuck"?

Edit: Relevant:



We're adults. Just say the fucking word instead of forcing me to say it in my head.
 
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Mut1ny said:
Why are you censoring the word "fuck"?


We're adults. Just say the fucking word instead of forcing me to say it in my head.
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It's not the wold that is cruel, it's the context it is used in that decides if it's bad thing or not.
 
the motorway is not for beta testing your autopilot. Turn it off and take it back to formula. Work on it until you get it right.
 
"1.08 fatalities per 100 million miles driven. According to the National Highway and Traffic Safety Administration, that's the death rate on the American road as of 2014"

"[...] I can come up with a better one: 0.76 fatalities per 100 million miles driven. [...]that fatality rate is for a very specific driver right here in America, and the name of that driver is Tesla Autopilot.[...]"

For the full article: Leave Tesla Alone

What I take from that is, that even with all the bad behavior of Tesla drivers they are still safer using it than not using it. Who is to say the guy could have successfully gotten out of the way of the semi even if he was fully alert and ready to handle it himself.


The thing to remember about highway safety is it's not about how safe a skilled, fully alert, ready for anything, driver is. It's about how safe average drivers are, and there are a lot of overworked, tired, and simply bad drivers on the road. I would prefer they use autopilot.
 
YeuEmMaiMai said:
the motorway is not for beta testing your autopilot. Turn it off and take it back to formula. Work on it until you get it right.
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Exactly. No amount of EULA or TOS or Use at Own Risk screens will save Telsa if one of their cars using "Auto Pilot" smashes into the side of a large white van hauling the entire team of 3rd graders to their early Saturday morning game.
 
I say leave it on. I'll never use it anyway. I don't even like it when other HUMANS drive my car while I'm riding passenger. :)
 
hexamon said:
"1.08 fatalities per 100 million miles driven. According to the National Highway and Traffic Safety Administration, that's the death rate on the American road as of 2014"

"[...] I can come up with a better one: 0.76 fatalities per 100 million miles driven. [...]that fatality rate is for a very specific driver right here in America, and the name of that driver is Tesla Autopilot.[...]"

For the full article: Leave Tesla Alone

What I take from that is, that even with all the bad behavior of Tesla drivers they are still safer using it than not using it. Who is to say the guy could have successfully gotten out of the way of the semi even if he was fully alert and ready to handle it himself.


The thing to remember about highway safety is it's not about how safe a skilled, fully alert, ready for anything, driver is. It's about how safe average drivers are, and there are a lot of overworked, tired, and simply bad drivers on the road. I would prefer they use autopilot.
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That's an interesting take-away from the article.

Here's an alternate interpretation and interestingly it's principles are guided in no small part from the author himself.

First and foremost, if he is championing personal responsibility in the article, consistency would dictate that he not champion self-driving vehicles. But I digress...

He points out that journalists are not engineers and hardly qualified to opine about Tesla's developments.
He then proclaims himself as an unsatisfactory authority in all things unrelated to racing.
I haven't been to the track in a while, but I'm going to climb out on a possibly shaky limb here and suggest that his racing career *might* not have prepared him as a statistician.

That is, ignoring the fact that those data he rests his main point on have not been updated in a couple years, and that those data also show a distinct trend of increasing safety year over year (unless last year and this one were anomalies, current data would demonstrate even lower death rates on the public roads), he's done some strange mis-steps.

I'll put it in lay-person's terms: I have never killed or been killed in a car accident. I have also driven pretty close to a million miles in my lifetime. In fact, anyone reading this has never been killed in a car accident. Anyone reading this has also never killed anyone with a car during the same time period that Tesla has existed.

Therefore, we conclude that [H] forum readers are safer than Tesla autopilot. Logic.
 
Tesla shouldn't do a thing. They state very clearly what it is and what it can and can't do. It's not magic, if people are reckless they can and will cause accidents regardless of their cars' features.
 
I think the problem is MARKETING

People hear AUTOPILOT and they assume its self driving. So its natural that people think that they can leave the steering wheel and go to sleep. Hey KITT could do it, why not Tesla.

Now if the thing was named Driving assistant (which it really is) then at least people would think twice on keeping their hands off the wheel.
 
lcpiper said:
Is it ConsumerReports or is it ConsumerInvolvment ?

Everybody wants to change the world ........ and think it's their responsibility to do it ...... the way they would like it ........ with no regard that others might disagree.
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OldBuzzard said:
**** Consumer Reports. **** the horse they rode in on. And **** their little dog too!
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"Consumer Reports" from my experience is "Rankings ordered by payouts given to them by companies".

My parents used to buy stuff based on "Consumer Reports" ratings and the stuff would ALWAYS break or have serious design flaws.

"Consumer Reports" is pretty much useless.
 
Did they make the same recommendation when people used cruise control to drive their car and stopped paying attention?
 
They can't pull a Google and call it beta and put it into production. Either they're paying you to test it and report back to them on what works or it is not ready for the street.

But, I'm also conflicted because it's likely to take a few more cars off the road. That's a good thing. :sneaky:
Plus I like that some of their cars are marginally attractive and fast electric cars.
 
hexamon said:
"1.08 fatalities per 100 million miles driven. According to the National Highway and Traffic Safety Administration, that's the death rate on the American road as of 2014"

"[...] I can come up with a better one: 0.76 fatalities per 100 million miles driven. [...]that fatality rate is for a very specific driver right here in America, and the name of that driver is Tesla Autopilot.[...]"

For the full article: Leave Tesla Alone
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That's an unfair comparison because the 1.08 fatalities is from the entire driving population driving in all conditions with cars that average 11 years in age. The fatalities also include motorcyclists, who have a much higher chance of dying. If we cherry pick statistics we can see how safe newer vehicles are:

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What I take from that is, that even with all the bad behavior of Tesla drivers they are still safer using it than not using it. Who is to say the guy could have successfully gotten out of the way of the semi even if he was fully alert and ready to handle it himself.
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If it was an unavoidable accident, he would have hit the cab of the semi-truck, not the center of the trailer with the semi-truck already halfway off the highway despite the Tesla not braking at all.
 
I think the car should taze you in the balls if it detects you falling asleep. WAKE UP MOTHERFUCKER, I'm not your Limo Driver.
 
That graph doesn't look relevant to me
Old people in rich luxury cars are not going to be in reckless accidents like the kids in honda civics.
Also, the tesla's are so new they have barely any miles driven which skews the results
 
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