Tesla has been promoting its driver-assist technologies with tools like Autopilot and “Full Self Driving,” which it claims makes driving safer than when a human is the only one operating the vehicle. Still, for over two years, the NHTSA has been looking into allegations of accidents involving Autopilot and its Autosteer feature.
Two days prior to the recall, The Washington Post published a thorough investigation that revealed at least eight significant occurrences involving the Autopilot system, some of which were tragic and for which it was inappropriate to use the technology in the first place.
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According to the Tesla owner’s manual, “the automobile is intended for use only on highways and limited-access roads with a fully attentive driver.” However, the business has promoted the idea that the majority of the decisions made by the vehicles—even when they deviate from these kinds of routes—are made securely thanks to their driver assistance capabilities.
However, the NHTSA conducted an investigation a few years ago and found several instances that raised doubts about the veracity of autopilot and full self-driving.
The insurance company told Tesla that “the prominence and scope of the feature’s controls may not be sufficient to prevent driver misuse [of the feature] in certain circumstances when Autosteer is engaged.” The phrase “there may be an increased risk of a crash” refers to situations in which drivers are not completely cognizant of their surroundings and prepared to take control of their vehicle.
Tesla will notify car owners of the change through letters in addition to software upgrades.
An earlier Autopilot problem
When the NHTSA determined that full self-driving and autopilot constituted a risk to public safety, it exerted pressure on Tesla to make changes.
The cars with the feature broke various traffic laws, including “entering a stop sign-controlled intersection without coming to a complete stop, travelling straight through an intersection while in a turn-only lane, and proceeding into an intersection during a steady yellow traffic signal without due caution.” As a result, Tesla recalled all 363,000 vehicles with FSD that were then registered in the United States in February.
The National Transportation Safety Board and the NHTSA have also looked at accidents involving Tesla cars that have been employing various driver aid systems. Several incidents involving emergency vehicles from earlier incidents are included in these collisions.
Not many automakers offer “self-driving” driver assistance systems, Tesla being the exception. Furthermore, it is not the only one experiencing safety issues. Following an incident, the Cruise subsidiary of General Motors was unable to operate its self-driving taxi service in California. As a result, the company has suspended operations nationwide.
In contrast to its rivals, Tesla has prioritised self-driving technology since it markets the terms “autopilot” and “full self-driving.” Customers who opt for the FSD option will pay $12,000, while those who buy cars with “enhanced autopilot” will spend $6,000.
Many customers who have paid more for these services have indicated that they don’t think the higher price is worth it. Despite the fact that some owners have complimented the features, tales of fatalities and serious accidents from police and safety inspectors may hurt Tesla’s efforts to sell the cars and their costly extras.
Why Tesla’s autopilot is very important
Even though Tesla only accounts for a small portion of the sales of other well-known automakers like Toyota, Volkswagen, General Motors, Ford, and Stellantis, it is currently the automaker with the biggest market value globally.
When determining the price of the company’s shares, investors place bets based on projections of future sales growth in addition to the software’s worth. The CEO of the company, Elon Musk, claims that the company’s AI goals and their applications in the creation of humanoid robots and self-driving automobiles are critical to its future success.
In a conference call with Wall Street investors in October, Musk stated, “I think it has the potential to make Tesla the most valuable company in the world by far in the long run.” “It’s unclear where the boundaries are if fully autonomous vehicles operating at scale and fully autonomous humanoid robots providing real utility are achieved.”
On Wednesday, the price of Tesla’s stock slightly decreased.
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