On Thursday, the publication called for the automaker to disable its hands-free operation until the system can be made safer.
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MI driver Albert Scaglione, 77, suffered injuries when his 2016 Tesla Model X SUV struck a concrete median on a Pennsylvania Turnpike in Bedford County and rolled onto its roof, coming to rest in the middle of the roadway.
“It is essential to use lessons learned from this incident to improve safety technologies, ensure they perform as advertised, and make certain that consumers are properly educated about their use”, Thune said in his letter.
It’s a game of wait-and-see until the full crash reports for both incidents come out and in the meantime Tesla makes sure to stress that Tesla drivers are aware that the Autopilot system is not ideal – stay fully alert at all times.
After being contacted by Consumer Reports, Tesla said it will “make our decisions on the basis of real-world data, not speculation by media”.
What do you think about Consumer Reports’ concerns about Tesla’s Autopilot features?
The NHTSA examination comes as the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission reportedly is investigating Tesla for possible violation of securities laws, according to the Wall Street Journal.
On Thursday, Musk tweeted that another crash involving a Tesla in Pennsylvania would not have happened if Autopilot had been turned on. But Consumer Reports said that Tesla’s messages “create potential for driver confusion”. They said that Tesla have made it sound like the feature takes over full control of the auto when this is not the case.
The Palo Alto, Calif. -based automaker, run by Elon Musk, has emphasized that Autopilot is still in a beta phase of introduction and has limitations.
The magazine’s calls come after former Navy Seal Joshua Brown, 40, of Canton, Ohio, died in a May crash in Florida with the Autopilot on.
In terms of renaming its Autopilot feature, Tesla said it functions like the same-named systems an airplane uses when conditions are clear, and the feature is enforced with onboard monitoring and alerts. That acknowledgement, it said, includes an explanation that the driver must keep hands on the steering wheel and is responsible for maintaining control of the vehicle. “The driver is still responsible for, and ultimately in control of, the auto”.
The magazine’s statement comes after a spate of crashes involving Tesla cars, including a May 7 fatal accident in Florida in which an OH man died when his Model S crashed into a tractor trailer while in Autopilot mode.
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Tesla says it will continue development of Autopilot, insisting that drivers supported by Autopilot “remain safer than those operating without assistance”.
