“I am interested in the company’s efforts to ensure the Autopilot technology was deployed safely in this instance”, read the letter from Thune, the committee chairman. Tesla revealed that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) was investigating the crash in a June 30th blog post. Autopilot also was engaged on a Tesla Model X during another crash Saturday when the SUV hit railing wires along the side of Montana highway.
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Tesla did not immediately respond to PCMag’s request for comment. (TSLA – Analyst Report) has been asked to brief the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation on a recent Model S crash that is in the limelight due to questions related to the Autopilot system.
Separately, Musk said in a tweet that a recent crash in Pennsylvania, in which the driver said he was in Autopilot mode when he crashed, was not due to the software.
Consumer Reports said the Autopilot name promotes “a potentially unsafe assumption” that the vehicle is capable of driving on its own. “Moreover, crash would not have occurred if it was on”, Musk wrote.
Tesla Motors, meanwhile, have maintained that the name is appropriate to the function it performs, stating that it works just like the autopilot feature in airplanes that pilots use in clear conditions, also saying that “the driver is still responsible for, and ultimately in control of, the car”.
A U.S. Senate committee wants a briefing within two weeks from Tesla Motors Inc. about its Autopilot, an automated driving feature which was activated in a May fatal crash in Florida.
Musk previously has said he would not disable the feature.
“We’re deeply concerned that consumers are being sold a pile of promises about unproven technology”.
Consumer Reports also wanted the Autopilot feature name changed to avoid giving a false sense of security about the car’s ability to drive itself.
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Tesla said that the company would make its decisions “on the basis of real-world data, not speculation by media”, while it appreciated “well-meaning advice” from Consumer Reports. “Tesla should disable automatic steering in its cars until it updates the program to verify that the driver’s hands are on the wheel”.
