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Canceling order due to autopilot death news?

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Sounds like the OP's main concern is the company's stability when facing dire issues. Tesla has already beat the odds by simply staying in existence up to now, even as they are still running in the red. That tells me two crucial things: 1) People are convinced that the company has a future and are willing to help keep it afloat; and 2) They have a solid business plan and product.

What the future holds for the company, who knows. It can change on a dime, just like any other company in a capitalistic society. But so far they are doing things right, and I am still excited about taking delivery of the Model 3 (whenever that will be).
 
In Complete Agreement with Most of the Posts. Distracted Driving - from any of a number of "distractions" - is still Dangerous Driving. "Autopilot" with Steering Control is Quite Fascinating, and really what I would consider to be really Incredibly Advanced Cruise Control, That being said, what has been termed "autopilot" is NOT REALLY "AutoPilot", where you would input your destination and the car would get you to that point, safely and with precision. However, until that time, we Really Need to "Stay Engaged" in the Driving Experience and Recognize the Limitations of the Cruise Control Features. I have had my Model X for two weeks now, so I am a relative "Newby" to using this feature. The times that I have tried using the Steering Control Features have been on the Highway when the traffic around me is relatively light. Currently reminds me of when I was teaching my daughter to drive when she had a learners permit. Always wanted to reach over and put my hands on the wheel and keep my foot on the brake. She has turned out to be a very good driver- no accidents in two years of "autonomous driving", even though she goes "faster" than I might prefer. I assume that I will get to be more comfortable with the TACC over the coming year, but with over 40 years of driving experience prior to purchasing my Model X, I am quite certain that I will remain an "engaged" and attentive driver despite getting more comfortable with the "autopilot" like features available in the TESLA Vehicles. Perhaps, as more EV, and even Hybrid with Substantial EV Capabilities, come into the Market, they might develop capabilities to recognize other nearby vehicles that are outfitted with advanced driving features and set up "feedback" mechanisms to ascertain driving speed, road conditions and such. Over time- Decades most likely - that might help improve traffic coordination and possibly lead to fewer vehicle to vehicle accidents. One question that comes to mind is as follows: does the TESLA Navigation System recognize when it is approaching Railroad Crossings? From what I understand regarding the accident leading to the Fatality, it sounded like the truck made a left turn across the highway at a 4 way intersection in front of the TESLA. Not many highways have 4 way intersections in them, but I have encountered 4 way intersections, including Stop Lights, on some roads, especially in rural areas and in the mid west. Perhaps the Navigation System needs to coordinate with the Cruise Control and Steering Controls to recognize when Highways have these features and alert the driver or slow down the vehicle. Thanks.
 
Currently reminds me of when I was teaching my daughter to drive when she had a learners permit. Always wanted to reach over and put my hands on the wheel and keep my foot on the brake. She has turned out to be a very good driver- no accidents in two years of "autonomous driving", even though she goes "faster" than I might prefer.

No, no... Please don't confuse the two. See how AutoPilot has already lured you into false sense of confidence? Your daughter has way better sensors, way better "Intelligence" processing (vs. computer AI), ability to learn and desire for self preservation. Current AP hardware does not, therefore it will NEVER get anywhere near a human capabilities. Future hardware with better sensors, maybe, but not my or your current car. To give you one example, AutoPilot does not see or react to most traffic that is already stopped - issue discussed in many other threads and also mentioned in the owner's manual, so I won't rehash the details, but bottom line is it's due to the sensor (in this case radar and camera) limitations which cannot be overcome with current hardware. I'm betting your daughter, even on her first day of driving, would at least attempt to stop the car if she came up on a stopped car. Your AutoPilot will not.
 
In Complete Agreement with Most of the Posts. Distracted Driving - from any of a number of "distractions" - is still Dangerous Driving. "Autopilot" with Steering Control is Quite Fascinating, and really what I would consider to be really Incredibly Advanced Cruise Control, That being said, what has been termed "autopilot" is NOT REALLY "AutoPilot", where you would input your destination and the car would get you to that point, safely and with precision..

I think "autopilot" is a perfect name for the feature. It (obviously) comes from the aviation biz, where it performs exactly the same function. Maintaining heading, altitude and speed control only (our cars leave altitude to the road surface). That is all it does in an airplane, and all it does in our cars.

When you drive [fly] into congested areas [airspace] you have to take a more active roll in maintaining situational awareness. Active Navigation assistance up to including full automany is an entirely different animal. But that is way more than basic AutoPilot. AFAIK, no aircraft can park itself in the hanger. :)

IMO, the name of the feature fits perfectly.
 
I think "autopilot" is a perfect name for the feature. It (obviously) comes from the aviation biz, where it performs exactly the same function. Maintaining heading, altitude and speed control only (our cars leave altitude to the road surface). That is all it does in an airplane, and all it does in our cars.

So what you're saying is that just like in aviation biz, Auto Pilot should only be engaged when there is nothing to crash into within some radius, e.g. 1 mile (I doubt the Autopilot is recommended to fly in tight formations with people of varying skill, experience and alertness, such as when you're on a highway with other people). So for a car, it's only good on an empty dry lake bed? ;)
 
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So what you're saying is that just like in aviation biz, Auto Pilot should only be engaged when there is nothing to crash into within some radius, e.g. 1 mile (I doubt the Autopilot is recommended to fly in tight formations with people of varying skill, experience and alertness, such as when you're on a highway with other people). So for a car, it's only good on an empty dry lake bed? ;)
I agree with this however two airplanes flying at 500 MPH in opposite directions a couple of thousand feet apart sounds like tight tolerances too.
 
I use autopilot all the time and am still not comfortable with it. I tend to think I am more attentive with it on than off. I'm very comfortable with it off as I have 40+ years of driving a non-autopilot car and know what it could do.

If you keep reminding yourself this is BETA software and don't pick up a book or video, you'll be fine.
 
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I would not let one accident affect your decision to purchase a Tesla. As has already been mentioned, autopilot has driven far more miles without an accident than humans do, on average. Further, they clearly state that auto pilot is in beta and driver should be in control of the vehicle at all times. Autopilot has no doubt avoided several accidents, and in this case, it was the drivers fault, not the vehicle's, that there was an accident. When auto pilot takes control of the vehicle from the driver and crashes into a wall, I will get concerned.

As it stands, autopilot is not perfect, but I feel it does a great job and it is always improving. I frequently drive two hours from Toledo to Cleveland and always use autopilot for the entire portion of the drive on the turnpike (which is almost the entire drive). There have probably only been one or two times in the last several months that I had to take over because the autopilot seemed to be about to do something stupid. Fortunately, while I do not typically keep my hands on wheel, I do always pay attention and was ready to take over. I wouldn't say a two hour drive Is ever enjoyable, at least not for me, but autopilot make the drive significantly more tolerable.

I have only ever been in one minor accident in my Tesla, where I knocked the side view mirror off the car when I fell asleep driving home after a night shift and hit a traffic barrel. I actually didn't turn autopilot on for this drive because I was afraid I may fall asleep if I did. As it turns out, I probably would've avoided the accident if I had used autopilot!
 
Seems to me that this accident was caused by the truck driver, not the autopilot.
Perhaps but isn't one of the purposes of AP, and systems like it, to help drivers avoid accidents regardless of who may be at 'fault'? It's not perfect but the question is should it have done better here? Hopefully Tesla will learn things from the investigation to help make the system better.
 
Today is the last day of my seven day period to cancel my order. I have to admit the news about the autopilot death spooks me a little. Not because I don't know about AP's limitations. I've driven the car extensively and understand that AP as a technology is still in its early stages.

What I'm more concerned about is what effect this will have on demand for Teslas in general. Tesla the company is riding on a lot of debt. Any significant shift in demand can cause trouble real fast. Not sure I want to plunk down 100k on a car if the company making it may be in trouble soon.

I realize I may be over-sensationalizing things, but it's still worth thinking about. Thoughts?

Not at all. The AP system has drive 130M miles before a fatality and the human being has a worse track record. That AP, an admitted beta, first out of the gate can perform as well as a human being is astounding. It was inevitable that this would eventually happen, just by the law of large numbers. People have been killed in cars of every brand, model, style, type. And people have been killed walking, sleeping, eating dinner, sitting on the john and having physical relations. If you're going to cancel the car over this, you should consider hiding in your room. Of course, then you're likely to die from some other malady associated with insufficient exercise.

The AP system is amazing so far, and will only keep improving. I'm happy to keep contributing to the development of such an amazing and safety enhancing technology.
 
Perhaps but isn't one of the purposes of AP, and systems like it, to help drivers avoid accidents regardless of who may be at 'fault'? It's not perfect but the question is should it have done better here? Hopefully Tesla will learn things from the investigation to help make the system better.

You can't expect any such system to be 100% flawless. Humans sure aren't.

I'd bet the accident statistics for autopilot are better than for human drivers (Tesla's blog post quoted some numbers that support that argument).

Also in this case, I would not be surprised if the accident happened exactly the same way with autopilot off. It just wouldn't be news.
 
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If you keep reminding yourself this is BETA software and don't pick up a book or video, you'll be fine.

Agree, and also don't text or use your laptop! Duh, right? My wife has a client that was doing the latter on his commute on the highway every day until one afternoon the car was passing by some road construction and swerved off the road and hit a road sign. He is fine, but because he was working on his laptop instead of both paying attention and having his hands on the wheel, he was in no position to prevent the accident. He has learned his lesson. This was even before the news of the FL accident broke.
 
Portable DVD Player reported player Harry Potter movie. Do not watch movies while driving. Tesla does not have functionality to watch movies on center display. Appears driver over road safety features built in. No watching movies while driving. If this is the case nothing to do with AP.
 
You have to decide what your vision for the future is and then just do it. You will see all kinds of negativity about everything in life, I'm not wealthy and love what Tesla is all about. Companies with vision will go thru ups and downs and there are certain factions that want those companies to fail. My belief is if you can do a small part to promote what will be good for all and have fun doing it what more could you ask for. With new technology there will always be learning curves, but if companies like Tesla can survive it changes business as usual. If no one takes a chance, nothing changes.
 
what, no. Topic has no bearing on my next purchase of a model 3 for the mrs. I've had my model S as long as the driver killed in the incident (almost 9 months), and no, this may have occurred while on autopilot, but as the disclaimer says, the driver is entirely responsible for the operation and control of their vehicle. Autopilot did not kill the driver, the driver's inattention or poor reaction time instigated the results that ended in his death.
 
Autopilot did not kill the driver, the driver's inattention or poor reaction time instigated the results that ended in his death.
Absolutely correct. The point is that AutoPilot enables people to pay less attention because of human nature, while actually they should be paying more attention while AP is engaged because not only does the driver have to react when AP doesn't, there is the additional burden of having to react to bad AP actions which normally would not occur when driving manually (for example AP suddenly steers the car and into oncoming traffic because of road scuff marks it perceived as lane markings).