A Public Letter to Mr. Musk and Tesla For The Sake Of All Tesla Driver's Safety

[jomo25]

I've experienced this, too, and I think it might be something Tesla needs to tweak somehow. When you're concerned about a steering
issue and turn auto-steer off (usually just be steering yourself) the last thing you need is a sudden burst of acceleration. I just can't see
that the "benefits" (whatever they may be) of resuming the TACC set speed outweigh the hazards of this catching drivers off guard.
I suspect if Tesla checked their logs they'd see that when drivers disengage auto steer at a time when the auto-steer-limited speed is
ten mph or more lower than the TACC set speed the very next thing they do is frantically turn off TACC, usually by hitting the brake.

I do agree with this. I have a loaner right now with AP. First time I'm getting to use AP extensively. I will say that when AP is deactivated due to a steering action, I think it should also disable TACC speed control. I've noticed this most when I am exiting a highway, and manually go to the exit lane, and there is less traffic in the Exit lane, the car will speed up if my traveling speed was lower than the TACC speed I had set. This of course is a bit jarring to speed up when I am trying to exit via the off ramp. (Of course the same would happen if I used AP to switch lanes to the off ramp, but that can be expected, since it's still activated fully)

Just my opinion based on the limited experience I have now. But I can't think of any reason to keep the TACC active when I manually disable AP due to a steering wheel action.

But all that said, what the OP did here - activating AP on an undivided road - is inexcusable. And his blaming of Tesla is totally ridiculous.

 

[eyespii]

In this game of he said/she said, who vets the tesla logs?

 

[bonnie]

In this game of he said/she said, who vets the tesla logs?

I think the robustness and accuracy of the Tesla logging system has been well validated by members of this forum who check the logs against performance on a regular basis. I haven't seen a single report (though granted, far too many threads to read everything) where an owner has reported that the log was inaccurate.

That's evidence for the discussion here. In a court of law, Tesla would be sharing their validation tests, etc. of the logging software.

 

[BluestarE3]

There's also the matter of verifying whether or not Tesla had reached out to Mr. Pang after the accident. If it ever gets to that point, it shouldn't be difficult to produce telephone call records showing the two answered calls and the two unanswered calls. Although not a smoking gun per se, it does call into question the accuracy of his statements overall. Keep in mind that we did not hear directly from Mr. Pang here in the TMC forums. The statements attributed to him were translations posted by various so-called friends of his, so there's the possibility of some mistranslation from Mandarin Chinese to English.

 

[Dangerous Fish]

I'd say the absence of any posts from Mr Pang or casteven in this thread since the original one speaks volumes.
He cannot be that eager to speak to Tesla, as he makes out. I wonder why?

Tesla's post here gives enough information for me to conclude that Pang was not following the recommended procedure and/or was simply not paying attention to the task of driving the car.

I think it's pretty clear cut myself.

 

[Topher]

This is a valid point.

No, it's not. The only way to know that the auto-pilot did not slow the car down, would be if they hit the first post, and DIDN'T, even then, slam on the brakes.

Thank you kindly.

 

[artsci]

This and other posts regarding AP accidents confirm what I was worried about from day 1 with AP. When there's an accident it will always be blamed on AP by the driver, whether AP was on and regardless of the driver's responsibility. Regrettably very few people these days hold themselves accountable for their own foolish behavior. Sad.

 

[CuriousG]

There are already a few AutoPilot meme GIFs going around so it will only continue to grow. Thanks Obama!

 

[bhzmark]

When it starts to sink in that every move they make is being logged and their lies will be found out, they will stop blaming AP.

 

[PaulusdB]

There are already a few AutoPilot meme GIFs going around so it will only continue to grow. Thanks Obama!

Even our fellow member @wk057 chimes in:
Blame Autopilot!

 

[msnow]

There are already a few AutoPilot meme GIFs going around so it will only continue to grow. Thanks Obama!

Your blaming Obama? Now I've heard the height of political absurdity.

 

[Stoneymonster]

Your blaming Obama? Now I've heard the height of political absurdity.

That's a pretty common tongue-in-cheek joke and has been for years. Even POTUS has said it.

 

[msnow]

That's a pretty common tongue-in-cheek joke and has been for years. Even POTUS has said it.

Sorry.

 

[Electroman]

My car the other day rear ended another car. I blame AP. The fact I was driving a rental Ford at that time is immaterial. I am confident Tesla AP is at fault.

 

[CHG-ON]

I don't buy it. The thing that really makes me not believe this story it is why didn't he hit the damn brakes after he hit the first barrier? He had to plow through 11 more before he realized that something was wrong? It doesn't take a rocket scientist to realize that the brakes will stop the car right away. In addition, I do not buy that he did not have enough time to react to the car veering off unless, of course, he was not paying attention, which he should and Tesla tells us to do, and it seems like he was not.

I have always had enough time to intervene because I watch what is going on.

This is not autonomous driving. The driver is responsible for everything while the car is in motion. Tesla makes this abundantly clear.

 

[sillydriver]

I don't buy it. The thing that really makes me not believe this story it is why didn't he hit the damn brakes after he hit the first barrier? He had to plow through 11 more before he realized that something was wrong? It doesn't take a rocket scientist to realize that the brakes will stop the car right away. In addition, I do not buy that he did not have enough time to react to the car veering off unless, of course, he was not paying attention, which he should and Tesla tells us to do, and it seems like he was not.

I have always had enough time to intervene because I watch what is going on.

This is not autonomous driving. The driver is responsible for everything while the car is in motion. Tesla makes this abundantly clear.

I think it shows the difficulty of reengaging with driving if you let yourself completely lose focus, get distracted, or fall asleep. For the first couple seconds you are panicked and frozen, like a deer in headlights. The lesson is not to lose focus.

 

[CuriousG]

That's a pretty common tongue-in-cheek joke and has been for years. Even POTUS has said it.

I didn't reply because I didn't know if he was being sarcastic too.

 

[msnow]

I didn't reply because I didn't know if he was being sarcastic too.

No, I hadn't heard of it. I usually put a smiley or wink after my sarcistic comments just to be sure.

 

[CuriousG]

No, I hadn't heard of it. I usually put a smiley or wink after my sarcistic comments just to be sure.

Thanks, Obama! | Know Your Meme

 

[CHG-ON]

I think it shows the difficulty of reengaging with driving if you let yourself completely lose focus, get distracted, or fall asleep. For the first couple seconds you are panicked and frozen, like a deer in headlights. The lesson is not to lose focus.

I completely agree and very well said. Just because the car is driving does not mean that we should not be wholly engaged at all times. We need to take complete responsibilities for our actions. Even when that includes telling a computer to do something for us, which is exactly what we are doing when we pull that stalk.