Consumer Reports Calls For Tesla To Disable Autopilot (consumerreports.org)

Reader parallel_prankster writes: Consumer Reports is calling on Tesla to disable its "Autopilot" feature that enables hands-free operation. Citing the recent fatal accident involving a car with Autopilot engaged, Consumer Reports labels the feature as "Too Much Autonomy Too Soon." In an extensive article posted at the top of its website Thursday morning, Consumer Reports said Tesla should "disable hands-free operation until its system can be made safer." "By marketing their feature as 'Autopilot,' Tesla gives consumers a false sense of security," said Laura MacCleery, vice president of consumer policy and mobilization for Consumer Reports, in the article. "In the long run, advanced active safety technologies in vehicles could make our roads safer. But today, we're deeply concerned that consumers are being sold a pile of promises about unproven technology. 'Autopilot' can't actually drive the car, yet it allows consumers to have their hands off the steering wheel for minutes at a time. Tesla should disable automatic steering in its cars until it updates the program to verify that the driver's hands are on the wheel."

Tesla says it will continue development of Autopilot, insisting that drivers supported by Autopilot "remain safer than those operating without assistance."

Comments

Re:So just rename it then?

[Anonymous Coward]

So do you expect "Automatic Pilot" on Airplanes to mean land/take off, deal with adverse weather, etc ?

Why do drivers of cars take automatic pilot to mean complete robotic control, "I can not pay attention"?

A car still requires a humans to intervention. No where have I seen automatic pilot to be advanced to complete automatic control/driving.

Only lawyers and the those in the general populace that are trying to elevate auto pilot as responsible, seem to not have the clue. And for lawyers
they have the clue, but they ignore it and exploit the notion that auto pilot means you as the human can rely 100% on the computer.

Lets rename the mode. Even though for 50 years Auto pilot meant do the easy, mundane things. Not complete autonomous control.

Too cautious

[worldthinker]

If I recall correctly, Consumer Reports was the same organization that demerited cars for having electric power windows because they said something to the effect that you'd be trapped in the event your car sank in a body of water.

It is sad that someone died while using Tesla's "autopilot" feature. But 1) evidence suggests the driver contributed to his own demise by ignoring or circumventing the warnings and safety features of the product 2) the product is only improved by the knowledge gained from this incident making future trips safer for everyone. 3) it is already evident that the rate of fatalities using this mode is already a 35% improvement over non-autopilot users. (1 fatality in 130 million miles driven vs. 1 in 96 million)