Should Tesla give us the option to disable autopilot with a pin code?

[RC2785]

So in case you haven't heard there was a car crash involving a Tesla in San Francisco recently. The person driving the Tesla rented it through a peer-to-peer renting service. Police don't know if the car was in autopilot, but it got me thinking, if I ever loaned my model 3 out to someone I wouldn't feel comfortable with them using autopilot. Should Tesla give us the option to disable autopilot and re-enable with a pin code?

Police investigate if Tesla was self-driving during crash

 

[chronopc]

So in case you haven't heard there was a car crash involving a Tesla in San Francisco recently. The person driving the Tesla rented it through a peer-to-peer renting service. Police don't know if the car was in autopilot, but it got me thinking, if I ever loaned my model 3 out to someone I wouldn't feel comfortable with them using autopilot. Should Tesla give us the option to disable autopilot and re-enable with a pin code?

Police investigate if Tesla was self-driving during crash

Would Valet Mode disable AP?

 

[S4WRXTTCS]

Doesn't valet mode lock out AP?

In any case I do agree that Tesla needs to have a primary account where you can set what's allowed for a secondary account.

Things like Autopilot, summons, self park, etc.

 

[RC2785]

Valet mode also restricts access to the front trunk and glove box right?

 

[killua]

No, tell the people borrowing your car not to use AP. if you dont trust them to listen to you, then they shouldnt be driving your car. tesla software engineers are not your baby sitter.

 

[TT97]

But Elon says AP is safer than humans driving?

 

[ChrML]

If Tesla implements such feature, they effectively admit that Autopilot decreases the safety. Why would it otherwise need to be disabled during rent?

Remember: Tesla communicates to media and regulators that a human + autopilot is safer than regular driving.

So answer to the question (game theory) is a pretty obvious: No, Tesla will not implement such feature.

 

[Knightshade]

If Tesla implements such feature, they effectively admit that Autopilot decreases the safety. Why would it otherwise need to be disabled during rent?

Remember: Tesla communicates to media and regulators that a human + autopilot is safer than regular driving.
.

human + correctly used autopilot is safer than regular driving.

Just as human + correctly used aircraft autopilot is safer than just the human flying (unless it's a 737 MAX I guess).


Human + totally incorrectly used AP, in car or aircraft, is a different story.


In the story linked, she was doing 15-20 over the speed limit in local city streets, and ran a stop sign. That's multiple things AP explicitly is not intended to be used for or expected to handle currently.

 

[ewoodrick]

No, there are a number of other vehicles on the road, in the rental fleet, that have similar features, except for NoP.
I had a Ford Edge last week and it had TACC equivalent

 

[mhinterseher]

I highly doubt the car was on autopilot as autopilot only allows speeds up to 5mph above speed limit under described conditions. If on autopilot and driver accelerates a warning is shown that autopilot will not break and it is the drivers intend to accelerate rather than break. Possible other scenario: Speed limit in database is ore than 15mph higher than real speed limit - unlikely in a city.

 

[JBT66]

If its true she was going that fast sounds more than likely the only driver assistance would be TACC. AP’s limit is 5 over and even if the speed was miss labeled 10 over sounds quite unlikely.

 

[chronopc]

I highly doubt the car was on autopilot as autopilot only allows speeds up to 5mph above speed limit under described conditions. If on autopilot and driver accelerates a warning is shown that autopilot will not break and it is the drivers intend to accelerate rather than break. Possible other scenario: Speed limit in database is ore than 15mph higher than real speed limit - unlikely in a city.

This. Also doesn't seem like the driver is claiming that it was AP's fault.

 

[ChrML]

human + correctly used autopilot is safer than regular driving.

Just as human + correctly used aircraft autopilot is safer than just the human flying (unless it's a 737 MAX I guess).


Human + totally incorrectly used AP, in car or aircraft, is a different story.


In the story linked, she was doing 15-20 over the speed limit in local city streets, and ran a stop sign. That's multiple things AP explicitly is not intended to be used for or expected to handle currently.

In that case I don't think autopilot on or off would made any difference. That's just plain stupid human driving by someone that should never drive anything at all.

You can just turn off autopilot in the menus before renting it out. Then you are sure that if the driver wants to turn it on, he/she has to read and accept the info/safety message.

 

[killua]

My guess is this 22 year old was texting,

 

[ckoval7]

My guess is this 22 year old was texting,

If this was a 42 year old, would you have come to the same conclusion?

 

[trm2]

If this was a 42 year old, would you have come to the same conclusion?

No, we old folk don't know how to use this fancy new stuff.

 

[trm2]

I highly doubt the car was on autopilot as autopilot only allows speeds up to 5mph above speed limit under described conditions. If on autopilot and driver accelerates a warning is shown that autopilot will not break and it is the drivers intend to accelerate rather than break. Possible other scenario: Speed limit in database is ore than 15mph higher than real speed limit - unlikely in a city.

There is a street I live off of that I naturally take every day. Most of the time the car doesn't know the speed limit. It is a 25 zone and once it finds the double yellow, I can set AutoPilot. I typically don't set it on this street, but have to (nervously) see how AutoPilot handles it. When it doesn't know the speed limit, it defaults to 40 (assuming 35 limit) every time on this street. The sad part is that about 5% of the time, the car does actually know the speed limit is 25.

Naturally this doesn't mean that the car in San Francisco was on AutoPilot, but it is possible.

 

[Twiglett]

Hmm - the press are the ones who keep incorrectly referring to AP as "Self Driving" - then bleat when someone believes them and is injured?

 

[Nocturnal]

Can't you disable it in the menu already?

There is a street I live off of that I naturally take every day. Most of the time the car doesn't know the speed limit. It is a 25 zone and once it finds the double yellow, I can set AutoPilot. I typically don't set it on this street, but have to (nervously) see how AutoPilot handles it. When it doesn't know the speed limit, it defaults to 40 (assuming 35 limit) every time on this street. The sad part is that about 5% of the time, the car does actually know the speed limit is 25.

Naturally this doesn't mean that the car in San Francisco was on AutoPilot, but it is possible.

Hard to complain about using a product incorrectly.

If its true she was going that fast sounds more than likely the only driver assistance would be TACC. AP’s limit is 5 over and even if the speed was miss labeled 10 over sounds quite unlikely.

Not correct. I can do 20 over with AP on highways. City streets, you may be right.​

​

 

[Msjulie]

If Tesla implements such feature, they effectively admit that Autopilot decreases the safety. Why would it otherwise need to be disabled during rent?

Remember: Tesla communicates to media and regulators that a human + autopilot is safer than regular driving.

So answer to the question (game theory) is a pretty obvious: No, Tesla will not implement such feature.

The name Auto Pilot makes people think it is something that it is not; re trust, I wouldn't rent my car out but if I were I would want to disable AP and TACC etc because people do not read manuals...