Mobileye says its chairman warned Tesla CEO Elon Musk in May 2015 against hands-free use of Autopilot, and was assured the system would be “hands-on”. Soon after its launch, video emerged showing Tesla owners without their hands on the wheel and in some cases not even in the driver’s seat.
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Mobileye attempted to force Tesla to discontinue this development, demanding the electric-car maker pay the supplier more among requirements in exchange for continuing supply of some hardware, the Palo Alto, California-based Tesla said in an e-mailed statement.
Mobileye announced its break with Tesla in July following a fatal collision in May that involved Autopilot. Radar sensors have previously served as a supplementary sensor, but with the update they will play a bigger role in determining whether objects are a danger.
In response, a Tesla spokeswoman had initially said the company never advertised its Autopilot as a self-driving technology or its cars as autonomous vehicles.
The war of words between the two companies started with Mobileye CTO saying that Tesla was “pushing the envelope in terms of safety”. Musk said on Sunday these changes will make Tesla vehicles “by far the safest on the road”, though he also warned they won’t mean “perfect safety”.
On Thursday, Tesla answered back with a statement saying the supplier had pulled out of its relationship with the electric auto maker because of concerns that the company was developing its own in-house capabilities.
While both companies share unique views regarding the autopilot system, while Tesla demanding and expecting a lot from it, the break-up in the partnership seemed inevitable.
Tesla is bristling over the recent Mobileye claim that its automated driver-assist technology is not fit to run as a driverless system.
Tesla has been mired with countless criticisms over its apparent claim that its cars can run hands-free via autopilot.
Because the impact of the accident damaged the Model S log data system, “the vehicle was physically incapable of transmitting log data to our servers”, Tesla said.
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It has always been Mobileye’s position that Tesla’s Autopilot should not be allowed to operate hands-free without proper and substantial technological restrictions and limitations. AP material published by LongIsland.com, is done so with explicit permission.
