Tesla: ‘full self-driving’ is self-defeating hype
Autopilot can steer, brake and accelerate — but real autonomy remains a work in progress
Driverless cars do not exist yet. Try telling that to some Tesla owners. They apparently switch on the Autopilot function when they want to move to the back seat or take a nap. Judging from scary camera phone footage posted on the internet, they take little notice of Tesla’s in-car safety warnings.
Tesla’s Autopilot can steer, brake and accelerate. But it still requires human supervision. Real autonomy remains a work in progress. That was reflected in a tweet on Saturday from founder Elon Musk who said the US electric vehicle group was delaying the rollout of the latest version of its “Full Self-Driving” software.
Tesla hopes a small number of Tesla drivers with the highest safety scores will test the new software. But even this will not meet the top Level 5 scale of autonomy that means a car can go anywhere in any conditions. The head of the US National Transportation Safety Board is right to call Tesla’s use of the term “full self-driving” misleading.
Ride-hailing app Lyft has operated a fleet of “autonomous” cars in Los Angeles since 2018. The caveat is that there is always someone in the driving seat ready to grab the wheel and take control.
Fully autonomous cars could save lives if they worked well. More than 1.3m people are killed each year in motor accidents, many resulting from driver errors. But accidents and abuses are shaking public confidence. Crashes are more likely if user features bear names that overstate their capabilities.
Five years ago, Intel predicted that self-driving vehicles would create a $7tn industry by 2050. But such forecasts have been routinely over-optimistic. The scale of investment required has led to recent consolidation in the industry. Last year, Uber sold its self-driving cars unit to Aurora Technologies, keeping a 26 per cent stake.
Tesla wants to dominate vehicle autonomy before a rival can. It is one reason its stock trades at 120 times forecast earnings. But that is no excuse for using language that fosters misplaced confidence in drivers who ignore the small print. It is time for Tesla to junk terms such as “autopilot” and “full self-driving”.