
Tesla Draws Scrutiny from Regulators After Autopilot Feature Linked to a Death - dankohn1
http://www.wsj.com/articles/tesla-draws-scrutiny-from-regulators-after-autopilot-feature-is-linked-to-a-death-1467319355
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jessriedel
Current discussion:
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12011419](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12011419)

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aresant
Naming their system "autopilot" was risky, I bet Tesla's attorneys pushed back
hard on that.

Why? To me "autopilot" means "automatic".

Wikipedia suggests the "average" definition is similar to my own - "An
autopilot is a system used to control the trajectory of a vehicle without
constant 'hands-on' control by a human operator being required."

And yet Tesla's disclaimer states "Tesla requires drivers to remain engaged
and aware when Autosteer is enabled. Drivers must keep their hands on the
steering wheel."(2)

In plain words that dissension between the name and the actual function is
needlessly confusing and probably irresponsible.

(1)
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autopilot](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autopilot)

(2)
[https://www.teslamotors.com/presskit/autopilot](https://www.teslamotors.com/presskit/autopilot)

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toomuchtodo
Autopilot in aircraft is no different; you must remain aware and attentive at
all times, it is merely to reduce physical workload. If you make a mistake,
you are still at fault.

EDIT: I can't reply to children comments because HN is throttling my posting
ability.

It's not Tesla's job to turn driver's into model citizens. They can't fix
irresponsible people taking irresponsible risks.

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Waterluvian
Right. But public understanding of the word is not the same as trained pilots.

TV and games have fairly conclusively made the word mean "autonomous."

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ikeboy
No paywall: [https://archive.is/zo1lE](https://archive.is/zo1lE)

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balls187
You can click the "web" link at the top of this page to do the same thing.

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maxerickson
Does this article add anything not in the Tesla blog post that is on the front
page?

[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12011419](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12011419)

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LeifCarrotson
One improvement is that the title is "Tesla Draws Scrutiny from Regulators
After Autopilot Feature Linked to a Death", instead of "A Tragic Loss". I
clicked this one but not the other.

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dragontamer
Agreed. This article is much better written.

The Tesla blog post arguably has more information: but its really just Tesla
trying to cover their ass about the issue. The May 7th date also provides some
better context: this crash happened nearly a month-and-a-half ago.

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Kinnard
Has it actually been linked?

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maxerickson
Tesla has stated in their blog that Autopilot was active at the time of the
crash. It didn't stop the vehicle.

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nadezhda18
well sooner or later it would happen so Tesla was probably ready for it

