FSD rewrite will go out on Oct 20 to limited beta

[2101Guy]

Full disclosure- I'm a brand new Tesla owner. (2 months today) That said, I totally understand the slow approach in releasing the FSD rewrite beta. Don't discount how much these autopilot accidents (and death) hurt Tesla. When talking with friends and family about my new car and autopilot/FSD, the first thing most of them ask is "haven't a lot of people gotten killed using that?"

Every time there's a bad accident with a Tesla that was on AP, it makes the news. The perception among the masses is it is unsafe. My wife doesn't feel comfortable when I engage AP. My mother-in-law outright asked me NOT to use it while she was in the car. This- even with my hands on the wheel and eyes on the road.

So even though Tesla is not liable, imagine if there was even a small issue that led to an uptick in accidents. It would most certainly be all over the news. (If Elon sneezes, it makes the news) While they wouldn't be held liable, it would still hurt the brand, possibly severely. There is no upside in a quick release, only downsides. The limited release makes perfect sense from a good business strategy standpoint, as well as moral/safety reasons.

I wish I'd been chosen. I drive like a granny.

Not sure if that's truly broad perception beyond anecdotal instances. The sales of Tesla vehicles don't seem to reflect a brand that is unsafe. At worst, those who have that concern would most likely just not use AP

 

[clydeiii]

Full disclosure- I'm a brand new Tesla owner. (2 months today) That said, I totally understand the slow approach in releasing the FSD rewrite beta. Don't discount how much these autopilot accidents (and death) hurt Tesla. When talking with friends and family about my new car and autopilot/FSD, the first thing most of them ask is "haven't a lot of people gotten killed using that?"

Every time there's a bad accident with a Tesla that was on AP, it makes the news. The perception among the masses is it is unsafe. My wife doesn't feel comfortable when I engage AP. My mother-in-law outright asked me NOT to use it while she was in the car. This- even with my hands on the wheel and eyes on the road.

So even though Tesla is not liable, imagine if there was even a small issue that led to an uptick in accidents. It would most certainly be all over the news. (If Elon sneezes, it makes the news) While they wouldn't be held liable, it would still hurt the brand, possibly severely. There is no upside in a quick release, only downsides. The limited release makes perfect sense from a good business strategy standpoint, as well as moral/safety reasons.

I wish I'd been chosen. I drive like a granny.

An interesting thought experiment: is it ethical to engage AP without your passengers' explicit permission?

 

[Mo City]

Think most people are kinda scratching their heads here. Whats thr point of announcing a release that's going to employees or a set of individuals that are strictly forbidden to share their experiences. Furthermore there is also zero information on what the details of the release are. Kinda unfortunate for the people who have paid for this feature years in advance

100% agree. This should have been a surprise announcement on the earnings call.

 

[2101Guy]

And actually, a study that would be interesting to see, is one around moving violations, specifically around speeding/reckless driving, as it relates to Tesla vs ICE vehicles. I know that in my prior vehicle (E55 AMG, and before that, BMW 540 //M with 6 speed manual), I absolutely would go well beyond the speed limits on a much more regular basis, than I do in my model S. Something about the sound of the exhaust at full growl, the sound of the supercharger whine, or in the case of the 540, the manual shifting up through the gears while hitting redline with that naturally aspirated V8 engine with custom exhaust. All things that subconsciously encouraged me to exceed the posted speed limits on a regular basis with those (fun) cars.

However, in the S, after the first few days of getting used to the acceleration, I've found that most times Im using the AP set right at the speed limit or at most, maybe whatever the speed of the flow of traffic is at, at that particular time. There's no reward to that side of the brain that apparently loves the sounds and experience associated with high power ICE cars. Instead, smooth cruising using autopilot has become more of my new normal.

 

[loquitur]

Hmmm ... "high power ICE" sounds ... with modulations for "gear shifts", both audio and visceral, a software feature request for Elon? Perhaps selectable for different classics, from muscle cars to race cars, motorcycles, to 18-wheelers (or pre-1970 VW buses) going up an incline.

 

[S4WRXTTCS]

Still nothing.

Apparently really safe drivers are also really safe when it comes to online habits.

At this point I don't think we'll see any leaks. The list of people might be not just be small, but only a handful of people. So the risk of being caught is simply too high.

 

[brkaus]

An interesting thought experiment: is it ethical to engage AP without your passengers' explicit permission?

Yes, because the driver is in control of the car. If they turn it on and hop into the back seat, that's a different story.

 

[murc585]

Elon did say in September that they would start with private beta, if that went well 4-6 weeks later it would be available to early access if the user opts-in and the mid-December there would be a wide release.

In theory, this won’t be in the hands of EAP for another 4-6 weeks.

 

[clydeiii]

Yes, because the driver is in control of the car. If they turn it on and hop into the back seat, that's a different story.

Is it ethical to engage AP if one of your passengers denies you explicit permission to use it?

 

[2101Guy]

An interesting thought experiment: is it ethical to engage AP without your passengers' explicit permission?

yes because the driver is still 100% accountable for everything the car does.
If the car has an accident while it was on AP, and the root cause of the accident was fault of the Tesla, police will charge the driver, not Tesla.

 

[helvio]

Is it ethical to engage AP if one of your passengers denies you explicit permission to use it?

Yes. Unless you’re kidnapping them, which is unethical IMHO, they’re not forced to ride with you.

 

[clydeiii]

Yes. Unless you’re kidnapping them, which is unethical IMHO, they’re not forced to ride with you.

It seems two things might occur. Under one, you're already driving in the car and they decide mid-ride that they don't want AP, and then you turn on the AP after they explicitly told you not to. Ethical or not ethical? Then the other one is, you're about to get in the car. They say, I won't get in unless you promise not to engage AP. You agree, you both get in, start driving, then you engage AP anyway. Ethical?

 

[helvio]

It seems two things might occur. Under one, you're already driving in the car and you turn on the AP after they explicitly told you not to. Ethical or not ethical? Then the other one is, you're about to get in the car. They say, I won't get in unless you promise not to engage AP. You agree, you both get in, start driving, then you engage AP anyway. Ethical?

Ethical. Replace “engage AP” with “slam on brakes”.

 

[brkaus]

Ethical. Replace “engage AP” with “slam on brakes”.

Or “play elevator music”.

 

[clydeiii]

Ok, let's change the scenario a bit. Let's say you casually mention to your mother-in-law that their grandson, aged 1, has learned how to drive your car. Your MIL is adamant that you not allow them to drive it while your MIL is in the car. You agree, then load it up with your MIL and your son, then halfway into the drive, let the son take over. Ethical?

 

[bdub85]

Please Elon or someone leak some videos and save us from ethics discussions. This brings me back to my undergrad years. lol

 

[ItsNotAboutTheMoney]

Ok, let's change the scenario a bit. Let's say you casually mention to your mother-in-law that their grandson, aged 1, has learned how to drive your car. Your MIL is adamant that you not allow them to drive it while your MIL is in the car. You agree, then load it up with your MIL and your son, then halfway into the drive, let the son take over. Ethical?

No.

And it's illegal.

 

[ItsNotAboutTheMoney]

It seems two things might occur. Under one, you're already driving in the car and they decide mid-ride that they don't want AP, and then you turn on the AP after they explicitly told you not to. Ethical or not ethical? Then the other one is, you're about to get in the car. They say, I won't get in unless you promise not to engage AP. You agree, you both get in, start driving, then you engage AP anyway. Ethical?

Ethical. Unethical.

This is easy.

 

[helvio]

Ok, let's change the scenario a bit. Let's say you casually mention to your mother-in-law that their grandson, aged 1, has learned how to drive your car. Your MIL is adamant that you not allow them to drive it while your MIL is in the car. You agree, then load it up with your MIL and your son, then halfway into the drive, let the son take over. Ethical?

What's your end goal? No one can tell the driver what to do except for the law. If you promise A and to B, you're not trustworthy. This is unrelated to lawful or ethical. As a driver, it's your responsibility to keep everyone inside of the car safe, and drive according to the law.

 

[helvio]

Or “play elevator music”.

I'm a Snake Jazz kind of person myself tho. It's more ethhhhhical