I don't know if it is purposeful or the name is genuinely confusing, but Autopilot is basically adaptive cruise control and lane assist. Updates that happened after this crash took place always stopping at stop signs and red lights for properly equipped cars.
FSD or Full Self Driving is the thing that drives the car all by itself. If you are not in the beta, it can only be activated on highways.
So basically this guy plowed a red light and cruise control and killed someone.
Some agency really needs to enforce consistent naming for all these features. Vague marketing terms like "autopilot" and "self-driving" cause enough confusion to be outright dangerous. A car manufacturer can't advertise ABS, airbags, tire pressure monitoring, traction control etc. and then say oh we define these terms differently. Autopilot should be no different.
Aircraft autopilots are glorified lane-keeping and assistance devices that steer a course in an environment that is reserved for airplanes, with clear lines of sight, clear slots for the individual vehicles and substantial separation between all vehicles in the lane. The environment is free of pedestrians, cyclists, children, footballs and other participants in traffic. If Tesla wants to subscribe to the definition of “autopilot” with the capabilities profile used in aircraft, it must only be usable in comparative environments - that is: a few hundred feet above ground, for takeoff and landing with instrument assist and with pre-assigned slots and fixed routes.
Yes, it is materially different, and they tackle wildly different problems in different fields, with again wildly different sensing and control interfaces, different uncertainties and challenges, and unbelievably disparate levels of required training, certification, and competence for use.
The desire to name it "autopilot" stems from a desire for positive marketing, not a desire for technical correctness. (And certainly not from a desire to accurately convey limitations to users!)
An autopilot in a commercial passenger aircraft is fully capable of controlling the plane after takeoff, landing, and taxiing up to the destination gate. Or in other words, after takeoff, it is fully capable of controlling the plane without any input from the pilot.
So, when Tesla advertises their cruise control as "autopilot" they are overstating the abilities of autopilot mode if they put in the fine print that a human actually is responsible for controlling the vehicle and that autopilot is just a glorified cruise control.
I'm a bit conflicted on this. If you actually examine what "autopilot" does on aircraft, it doesn't seem misleading at all. Most autopilot, unless it's connected to a terrain database, will happily fly you straight into a mountain. Autopilot usually just maintains heading, altitude, and airspeed.
It's difficult to compare flight autopilot and automobile autopilot.
Flight autopilot generally warns when terrain or traffic is advancing. You can also program routes, etc. on the flight management computer which connects and controls autopilot. Many planes even autoland in certain conditions.
Growing up, I spent a lot of time on boats. The county I grew up in was primarily a fishing/crabbing economy. Autopilot on boats is like this. It maintains a compass heading. At no point does it steer you around obstacles or react to anything other than changes in the compass heading induced by drift, waves, currents, wind, etc.
FSD or Full Self Driving is the thing that drives the car all by itself. If you are not in the beta, it can only be activated on highways.
So basically this guy plowed a red light and cruise control and killed someone.