Tesla has insisted on the involvement of the customer due to the state of the auto. But some business partners don’t agree with the pace. Tesla said a May 7 incident was the first known fatality linked to the Autopilot mode.
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In its response Friday, Mobileye said it felt “all along” that Tesla’s Autopilot should not be allowed to operate hands free without “proper and substantial” restrictions and limitations.
“We’ve continuously educated customers on the use of the features, reminding them that they’re responsible to keep their hands on the wheel and remain alert and present when using Autopilot”, she added.
Speaking to journalists about the software update, Tesla CEO Elon Musk said he believed this upgraded Autopilot system would have prevented the fatal autopilot crash that happened earlier this year.
Mobileye’s Shashua, however, didn’t budge on the belief that Tesla’s seeming promises of safety, coupled with fatal accidents, could hurt the entire driverless tech industry in the long run. It has stated it will look at the design and performance of the Autopilot system, primarily to determine whether the system worked according to expectations. Mobileye would continue to develop its system until traffic-related accidents were reduced and the safety of drivers and riders was ensured.
Shashua said that Tesla keeps boasting about the capabilities of their Autopilot system, which could lead to unnecessary risks on the road.
Autopilot has been under scrutiny since a fatal crash in May caused by the technology missing a lorry.
A Chinese man sued Tesla in China in July, saying Autopilot caused his son to crash into a street-sweeping vehicle. The driver also doesn’t appear to take control of the vehicle.
Last fall, YouTube videos spread showing Tesla drivers using Autopilot and taking their hands of the wheel.
The father of the deceased in July filed a lawsuit in a Beijing court against the auto dealer who sold him the auto, alleging that his son had turned on the Autopilot feature before he crashed into a vehicle in January in the northeastern province of Hebei, according to reports citing Chinese state broadcaster CCTV.
“When Tesla refused to cancel its own vision development activities and plans for deployment, MobilEye discontinued hardware support for future platforms and released public statements implying that this discontinuance was motivated by safety concerns”.
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The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the death of a 40-year-old Tesla driver in Florida. As Jalopnik reported, the big change will rely more on Tesla’s integrated radar system as opposed to its camera-based setup.
