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Prediction: Tesla Pulls Autosteer Function Soon

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Due to the videos I am witnessing online, I truly feel there will be an AutoPilot/AutoSteer related vehicle crash soon. This is because people simply cannot follow directions, and it affects the safety of not only themselves- but everyone on the road. There is even a video of a complete fool filming from the back seat.

I feel regulators will force Tesla to pull the feature until it can be modified/improved to the point it requires hands-on only operation, and more bugs are worked out. I also think it should use GPS to disable AutoSteer unless its on a known freeway or highway, and not on surface streets. Think about the other idiot who was driving on a 1 lane road and AutoSteer almost killed him and the passengers in the other lane. This is like handing a loading weapon to Simple Jack from Tropic Thunder.

Too many idiots are going to mess this up for all of us. My prediction, enjoy the AutoSteer function- because its not going to last.

Also, AutoPark sucks and doesn't work 99% of the time. Just throwing that in there too.
 
There is no way that Tesla would release it then pull it.

When it comes to safety reasons.. why wouldn't they? One issue with it caught on camera jerking the wheel into another car will be a PR nightmare and also affect their stock. I can see them pulling it until more kinks are worked out, due to pressure from regulators. Look at some of the videos with it jerking the wheel into other lanes. Its too buggy for idiots who do not know how to use it properly.
 
I'll be sad to see it happen but in a world where hot coffee requires a label advising not to pour in your lap, it's hard to see AP lasting long. The only reason we have it in the first place is private industry being more efficient at launching new tech than government is at regulating it.
 
They don't need to pull autosteer. They just need to tweak a few things:

1. Disable autopilot if driver is not seated.
2. Disable autopilot if there is no center divider.
3. Clarify that drivers need to check mirrors before initiating an auto lane change.
4. Add traffic lights recognition before a pedestrian gets run over at traffic lights.
 
They don't need to pull autosteer. They just need to tweak a few things:

1. Disable autopilot if driver is not seated.
2. Disable autopilot if there is no center divider.
3. Clarify that drivers need to check mirrors before initiating an auto lane change.
4. Add traffic lights recognition before a pedestrian gets run over at traffic lights.

How do those things address it from randomly jerking the wheel into other lanes? Also, it can still be initiated on side streets- how can it disable AP if there is no center divider, it has no idea how to differentiate 4 lanes on a free way vs 1 lane each way on a 2 lane road. Not possible. Needs GPS enabled only "whitelist" of roads and blacklist the others that are not well known highways.
 
When it comes to safety reasons.. why wouldn't they? One issue with it caught on camera jerking the wheel into another car will be a PR nightmare and also affect their stock. I can see them pulling it until more kinks are worked out, due to pressure from regulators. Look at some of the videos with it jerking the wheel into other lanes. Its too buggy for idiots who do not know how to use it properly.

You should short the stock since you are so certain about it all.

There are over 32,000 car fatalities per year in the US. I'm surprised regulators haven't pulled all cars from the road until there's some kind of system that makes sure people always have 2 hands on the steering wheel, prevents people from driving too close to the car in front of them, makes sure they look carefully before lane changes, never allows them to go above the speed limit, prevents them from running red lights, does not allow driving while intoxicated, etc., etc.

AP warns that you should keep your hands on the steering wheel. Just because people choose not to do so is not a flaw of the system any more than blind spot warnings may not always be 100% accurate and therefore, people are still liable if they cause a crash because they didn't check their blindspot.
 
The only reason this becomes an issue is because of the "shark attack" factor. You know, things that are statistically improbable to hurt anyone - but that nevertheless cause mass panic. There is like 90 car-related deaths a DAY. Autopilot is not/will not be the problem. Some jackhole being stupid/drunk/poor driving will be the problem, just like with most every traffic accident.
 
You should short the stock since you are so certain about it all.

There are over 32,000 car fatalities per year in the US. I'm surprised regulators haven't pulled all cars from the road until there's some kind of system that makes sure people always have 2 hands on the steering wheel, prevents people from driving too close to the car in front of them, makes sure they look carefully before lane changes, never allows them to go above the speed limit, prevents them from running red lights, does not allow driving while intoxicated, etc., etc.

AP warns that you should keep your hands on the steering wheel. Just because people choose not to do so is not a flaw of the system any more than blind spot warnings may not always be 100% accurate and therefore, people are still liable if they cause a crash because they didn't check their blindspot.

Lets not start with the whole "stock shorting" BS.. c'mon.

In those fatalities, please name one where the cars decisions and actions through programming and software potentially killed someone? That's the problem here. The car now has a mind of its own, and if there are any flaws that is ammo for regulators to use against it. Not saying I am predicting its demise, but maybe it will have to be pulled until its polished more. Not letting a bunch of lemmings drive around with Beta software on public roadways.
 
Lets not start with the whole "stock shorting" BS.. c'mon.

In those fatalities, please name one where the cars decisions and actions through programming and software potentially killed someone? That's the problem here. The car now has a mind of its own, and if there are any flaws that is ammo for regulators to use against it. Not saying I am predicting its demise, but maybe it will have to be pulled until its polished more. Not letting a bunch of lemmings drive around with Beta software on public roadways.
I don't believe that you know what you're talking about. Question: how many miles have you, personally, actually driven using AP?
 
Lets not start with the whole "stock shorting" BS.. c'mon.

In those fatalities, please name one where the cars decisions and actions through programming and software potentially killed someone? That's the problem here. The car now has a mind of its own, and if there are any flaws that is ammo for regulators to use against it. Not saying I am predicting its demise, but maybe it will have to be pulled until its polished more. Not letting a bunch of lemmings drive around with Beta software on public roadways.


Do you even own a Tesla? The moment you activate AP, it warns that you should keep your hands on the wheel. The driver is still responsible no matter what. Just like it is now in all cars. By the way, the car doesn't have a mind of it's own. It's a driver assist feature - not a fully autonomous vehicle.
 
Yes. I fully support an online CBT (computer based training) on the my.teslamotors.com site that disables AP from your car if you don't complete an initial and annual refresher course. Maybe even a monthly "quick refresher".
I propose a course with one question, it should take under 15 seconds to pass this course:
1) are you supposed to remain in control of the vehicle at all times? Y/N

If you answer N the car should refuse to leave park ever again.
 
You'll see more of this.

Those who are not happy because Tesla has taken this concept farther than any other auto manufacturer, and is prominently back in the spotlight with it, now all of a sudden feigning concern about operator "safety".

Why aren't they fighting for the banning of cars capable of reaching speeds almost 3 times the average posted highway speed limit in the U.S., cars which can legally find their way under the control of junior who just got his driver's license last week and whose parents decided to indulge him for his birthday, in the interest of safety?

All of a sudden we're worried about the "safety" of auto pilot. But we weren't worried about it's safety when it was starting to look like it wasn't going to come to pass anytime soon. We weren't worried about it's safety when we were making bets on if it was going to come out at all.

We're worried about the "safety" of auto pilot, but we aren't worried about the prospect of a new Corvette Z06, Dodge Viper, or Porsche 997 Turbo, or some other virtual race car with a license plate on it, ending up in the hands of some teenager still in high school.

But now all of a sudden, autopilot is a menace, a scourge, and ought to be pulled from the market, because "somebody might hurt themselves if they're foolish with it".
 
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You'll see more of this. Those who are not happy because Tesla has taken this concept farther than any other auto manufacturer, and is prominently back in the spotlight with it, now all of a sudden feigning concern about operator "safety".

To be fair, the OP said:

This is because people simply cannot follow directions, and it affects the safety of not only themselves- but everyone on the road...Too many idiots are going to mess this up for all of us. My prediction, enjoy the AutoSteer function- because its not going to last.

I think he makes good points. Many things in our society are governed by the lowest common denominator. The OP doesn't like it and he made a prediction that he likely doesn't want to see come to pass but it makes for an interesting discussion and that's what being here is all about.

It's unfortunate how many attacks there have been on here lately with the label of "troll" being used a lot whereas in the past calling someone a troll was really frowned upon unless it was patently obvious the person was a troll. And the comments of "do you even own a Tesla" I find rude. It's fine to find out if someone owns one and thus has personal experience, but the question should be asked politely and not with insinuation that they can't comment if they don't own one. People who don't own a Tesla are just as welcome here as those who do. I started here not owning one and was welcomed with open arms and helpful advice. Many of those people barely post anymore and I can see why.
 
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I don't think they'll pull autosteer, but I imagine there might be some tightening up of it. Either through GPS fencing, or through nagging. You have to keep in mind that Tesla is far from the only company on the market with a car that does some form of autosteer.

You also have to keep in mind that misunderstanding with how TACC worked caused at least one crash, and probably a few that I don't know about. Sure it was less sensational, and didn't cause much media attention but it still happened.

What I've love to see Tesla do is to go the "No Soup for You" route. Where it automatically recognizes people that are being absolutely ridiculous with it, and simply shuts it off for them.

HAHAHA!!! that would be AWESOME because it's always just a few idiots that ruin it for the rest of us.
 
Autopilot vs Cruise Control

How many years since we got Cruise Control in millions of cars which have no sensors whatsoever to detect whether we are fast approaching the car in front of us. It is the driver who must keep an eye and put the foot on the breaks otherwise the car would simply crash into the car ahead.

I bought my Mercedes Coupe in 2013. It has has cruise control just like the Merc of 2009 and the one of 2005 and the Jag of 2001 and I believe it started at least as early as the 80s.

Autopilot is a smarter cruise control with detectors. It will break when approaching a slower car and it tries to keep the lane it is driving in. B-t-w a feature you can order in newer Benz for a few years. It is called adaptive cruise control and when you move out of your lane the steering wheel starts to vibrate to alert the driver unless you had activated the indicator.

So people just relax, Tesla is neither the first (they just made it a tiny bit smarter), nor they only one. You are already surrounded by millions of cars which do pretty much the same or worse ... cruise control with NO sensors.

bmw
 
Autopilot vs Cruise Control

How many years since we got Cruise Control in millions of cars which have no sensors whatsoever to detect whether we are fast approaching the car in front of us. It is the driver who must keep an eye and put the foot on the breaks otherwise the car would simply crash into the car ahead.

I bought my Mercedes Coupe in 2013. It has has cruise control just like the Merc of 2009 and the one of 2005 and the Jag of 2001 and I believe it started at least as early as the 80s.

Autopilot is a smarter cruise control with detectors. It will break when approaching a slower car and it tries to keep the lane it is driving in. B-t-w a feature you can order in newer Benz for a few years. It is called adaptive cruise control and when you move out of your lane the steering wheel starts to vibrate to alert the driver unless you had activated the indicator.

So people just relax, Tesla is neither the first (they just made it a tiny bit smarter), nor they only one. You are already surrounded by millions of cars which do pretty much the same or worse ... cruise control with NO sensors.

bmw

Interesting post.

But a bit of trivia.

Cruise control was actually invented by a blind man. It has been in vehicles for 57 years now.

The Blind Man Who Invented Cruise Control

The first cars to get it were the 1958 Chrysler Imperial, Chrysler New Yorker, and Windsor. In the 1960s, cruise control started to show up in Cadillacs. When I was in high school, among the cars my family owned, was a classic 1964 Cadillac which had been in the family for years. One day, just thumbing through the owner's manual, I came across the subject of cruise control and while the car we had, didn't have it, it was apparently optional in the 1964 models, the cruise control consisted of a dial, or a wheel if you will. You rotated that wheel to the speed you wanted. The wheel had numbers on it representing the speed that the driver would select that he wished to cruise at. The manual cautioned you not to rotate the wheel too fast, lest the car speed up uncontrollably fast.