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Thanks so much for writing this and everything else in your post. I think we all know that the vast majority of Tesla owners are responsibly using and benefiting from Autopilot. As many owners have posted here on TMC, Autopilot plus an attentive driver is better than a driver without Autopilot. None of us want Autopilot to be disabled, as Elon so eloquently tweeted recently: 0.0% want it disabled -- not 0.1%, 0.0%Ms. MacCleery/Consumer Reports - the Tesla owners who paid for the AP technology are NOT guinea pigs. Guinea pigs don't fork out $2500 to be part of an experiment. When we purchase the AP option and then subsequently enable it (Tesla makes the driver enable it from the Settings), we take responsibility of using this developing technology.
This makes no sense. Who drives from LA to Vegas nonstop? Everyone I know (and myself) makes a pit stop in Barstow. Unless you are partial to wearing adult diapers who drives 4 hours nonstop (assuming no traffic)? Really?I sure would like this on the trip from California to Las Vegas.
However a little more range for that trip would be good so i wouldn't have to stop in Barstow or Primm.
Maybe some day. Wish the X was cheaper with more range.
This makes no sense. Who drives from LA to Vegas nonstop? Everyone I know (and myself) makes a pit stop in Barstow. Unless you are partial to wearing adult diapers who drives 4 hours nonstop (assuming no traffic)? Really?
And finally back to Consumer Reports and other media - STOP MISLEADING THE PUBLIC - REPORT ON FACTS AND DON'T MISUSE STATISTICS TO PROVE A POINT!!!
So if the original moniker for cruise control was "Auto-pilot" then why are the naysayers insisting this means full autonomous self driving rather than just the driving assistance like enhanced cruise control? That said is the term trademarked? Will Chrysler sue Tesla so they can finally have something financially successful in the auto industry besides a mini-van?"autopilot"....wikipedia so it "has" to be true...but it is referenced. Not a new term. In fact it was the name originally given to this new technology called cruise control in 1958. It's amazing that CR makes anything of it. I guess without advertisers, they need sensationalism to attract readership. I cancelled my subscription.
"Modern cruise control (also known as a speedostat or tempomat) was invented in 1948 by the inventor and mechanical engineer Ralph Teetor.[1] His idea was born out of the frustration of riding in a car driven by his lawyer, who kept speeding up and slowing down as he talked. The first car with Teetor's system was the 1958 Imperial (called "Auto-pilot") using a speed dial on the dashboard."
I made a similar post on the consumer reports article but it seems to have disappeared and it's showing 0 comments. I'm wondering if they are deleting comments or their system is just not working.With the recent allegations by some Tesla drivers on the failure of Autopilot on their cars and the media jumping on those incidents, this is a quick primer for every Tesla driver (including spouses, siblings, sons and daughters) and Laura MacCleery, VP of Consumer Policy and Mobilization for Consumer Reports:
Autopilot by definition is a system that is used to control the trajectory of a vehicle (aircraft, boat, spacecraft, motor vehicle) without constant "hands-on" control by a human operator. The level of control that an autopilot can perform varies even within aircrafts that are capable of using autopilots. However, autopilot should not be confused with autonomous. An autonomous driving vehicle does not need human intervention. It can navigate without human input solely based on sensing its environment.
Tesla's autopilot is a developing suite of features that meets NHTSA's level 2 unlike Google's car that meets the level 3 designation. As Elon Musk has said many times, Tesla's autopilot represents baby steps towards achieving full autonomy.
As of writing this note, Tesla's autopilot allows you to maintain lane, change lanes, and park the car. While you should keep your hands on the steering wheel, when driving on a straight road with minimal traffic, you may take off your hands from time to time to relax your arms. However, when encountering curves, construction zones, roads that don't have clear lane markings, busy traffic, inclement weather such as rain or snow, and even direct bright sun, you should keep your hand on the steering wheel and be ready to take control if needed.
Remember, when you are in an aircraft and if the pilot were to put the aircraft in autopilot mode, what would you expect them to do. I believe you wouldn't want them to be roaming the aisles and talking to passengers leaving the flight control to the computer. It's the same with your car on autopilot.
And definitely DO NOT:
a) Go to sleep
b) Read any kind of literature
c) Play games
d) Watch anything other than the road and the dash/screen on your car
e) Get so engrossed in conversation with other passengers in the car or on the phone that you are not aware of road conditions.
Did you notice that all of the above also apply to driving any vehicle? I hope you get the point - it is NOT AN AUTONOMOUS vehicle so don't act like you are driving one. There is NO autonomous vehicle authorized on public roads at this time in any part of the world. Once again, autopilot is NOT autonomous. Autopilot still requires you - it will assist you but doesn't replace you.
I am sure many of you must be questioning then why have the AutoPilot. After putting over 18,000 miles on my car with autopilot, here are the advantages:
1. It does really well compared to a human driver for keeping the center of the lane.
2. The few minutes you get to relax your arms go a long way in reducing fatigue especially on long road trips.
3. Since you can relax out of a fixed body posture and less fatiguu, it helps the driver to remain more alert and less likely to doze off.
4. The ultrasonic sensors and the radar are quicker than humans to detect if another vehicle is getting into your lane and slow down your car. They also warn you instantly if you need to take over control and avoid a crash.
Ms. MacCleery/Consumer Reports - the Tesla owners who paid for the AP technology are NOT guinea pigs. Guinea pigs don't fork out $2500 to be part of an experiment. When we purchase the AP option and then subsequently enable it (Tesla makes the driver enable it from the Settings), we take responsibility of using this developing technology.
For your four recommendations, the only one I agree is about consumer education. The other three:
a) Disable autosteer till hands on wheel are required - definitely NOT. Not only is it a huge step backwards towards achieving autonomous driving, it defeats the very purpose of reducing driver fatigue. The current version gives just about sufficient time to relax your posture and reduce fatigue.
b) Stop referring to as Autopilot - It meets the current widely used concept of autopilot and changing the name is not going to make it safer. People will still call it AutoPilot no matter what Tesla renames it too.
c) No more beta releases - test within the lab. Do you know of any automotive lab that emulates every single road condition? Is it even possible to create one?? Google has been trying to collect real life data from its own Level 3 cars on public roads. However, that approach has been a slow process, does not collect sufficient data and delays the significant advantages of autonomous driving. The practice of using beta testers from public is prevalent amongst several industries including healthcare. If consumers are willing to pay Tesla or anyone else to pay for emerging technologies, then don't brute force your way and cripple their rights.
My plea to regulatory bodies and insurance companies:
1. Implement laws that support emerging technologies not cripple them.
2. Improve and standardize our roads - make our roads smarter.
3. Provide incentives for drivers and vehicles that use emerging technologies such as Autopilot as they reduce accidents and improve safety.
And to my fellow Tesla drivers - educate other drivers in your household about autopilot and help them use it responsibly. DRIVE RESPONSIBLY AND SAFE WITH AP!!
And finally back to Consumer Reports and other media - STOP MISLEADING THE PUBLIC - REPORT ON FACTS AND DON'T MISUSE STATISTICS TO PROVE A POINT!!!
Disclaimer: I do not own Tesla stock nor do I short/long Tesla stock at the time of writing. I do own Tesla vehicles with AP enabled and my only interest in writing this post is to promote autonomous driving. You have my permission to reproduce the above post outside of this forum in its entirety. However, if you want to publish parts of it, please contact me for permission.
So if the original moniker for cruise control was "Auto-pilot" then why are the naysayers insisting this means full autonomous self driving rather than just the driving assistance like enhanced cruise control? That said is the term trademarked? Will Chrysler sue Tesla so they can finally have something financially successful in the auto industry besides a mini-van?
Tesla misused statistics to prove a point. All I've seen in response are articles which point that out.
Elon Musk’s estimate that Tesla Autopilot could save 500,000 lives worldwide doesn’t make sense
Here's a statistic for you: 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, the last year for which there is complete data. In 1994, the rate was 1.73, so we are almost twice as safe as a nation of drivers as we were twenty years ago. This will no doubt come as a surprise to those of you who buy into the idea that "distracted driving" has unleashed a plague of death and destruction upon us. The fatality rate in 2007, the year of the iPhone's introduction, was 1.36. We are now 30 percent safer than we were before the iPhone. Unlike the people who make a living raising panic about distracted driving, I won't try to make an outrageous and illogical assertion based on the above fact.
As good at the 1.08 stat is, I can come up with a better one: 0.76 fatalities per 100 million miles driven. Is that the fatality rate for Germany, where nobody ever passes in the right lane, there is barely any distracted driving, and everybody who has a license is basically as good a driver as Michael Schumacher, or at least Ralf Schumacher? Is it Finland where the driving test is so strictthere's a 57 percent failure rate? Or is it Japan, where all the cars are clean and brand new?
<snip>
Agree, this is very well done and the kind of thing Tesla will likely be doing in the coming weeks.Top 10 Tesla Autopilot Do's and Don'ts
By DragTimes
Thought the above was very well done and responsible usage.
One fatality in 130 million miles doesn't prove anything one way or the other. Had Joshua Brown been carrying a passenger, the fatality rate would be worse than the US average. If there's another fatality today, same thing. Tesla should not be comparing this to overall US fleet averages.roadandtrack article tweeted via Elon: Leave Tesla Alone
You do realize that Teslas don't have an ignition, or even an "on" button? You simply press the brake, and then put the car in gear.Future Models have a biometric finger reader near ignition to have driver profiles for the car.