Tesla Autopilot 'misleading' says court
Friday, 17 July 2020
The Munich Regional Court has ruled that Tesla branding its autonomous tech Autopilot is 'misleading' for consumers.
It found that Tesla models are unable to complete a journey without human intervention even with the Autopilot software and the ‘Full Self-Driving Capability’ package, thus making the Autopilot branding misleading.
By using the term in its marketing materials, Tesla implies its models “are technically able to drive completely autonomously”. However, drivers must still be alert at all times and intervene if necessary.
Tesla has now been banned form using this language in Germany, where vehicles are not yet allowed to drive autonomously on public roads.
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Matthew Avery, research director at vehicle testing body Thatcham, which is a part of the Euro NCAP safety body, said to Autocar UK: “We have long warned of the pitfalls to the Autopilot system. Its seemingly competent performance can encourage drivers to hand too much control to the vehicle and lose sight of their responsibilities behind the wheel. This is a progressive process that begins when motorists are marketed the ‘self-driving’ experience.
“Autopilot is not a self-driving system. It is there to provide driver assistance, not become an invisible chauffer. We support the German competition commission’s ruling. Naming is key, and Autopilot is an especially misleading term.”
Despite Elon Musk’s venting on Twitter, there have been a number of examples of drivers not understanding the actual capabilities of their cars.
A man in the UK was arrested back in 2018 for sitting in the passenger’s seat of his Model S while it drove itself down the highway at around 65kmh. He was filmed by the passenger of another car on the M1 relaxing in the passenger's seat of his car with his hands behind his head, with the footage appearing on social media before it was reported to the police, who were unsurprisingly very interested in talking to him.
A separate study by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety found that the public generally thought Autopilot is safer than it actually is. The study questioned more than 2000 people about the names used by five automobile companies to market systems intended to relieve driver stress and improve safety, and its results indicated that names such as Tesla's Autopilot create consumer confusion about how much attention a driver really has to pay.
The other technologies covered were Audi and Acura Traffic Jam Assist, Cadillac Super Cruise, BMW Driving Assistant Plus and Nissan ProPilot Assist.
Autopilot created the most confusion among study respondents. Nearly half - 48 per cent - thought it would be safe to take hands off the steering wheel when using the system. The Tesla manual says the driver should hold the wheel at all times, and - when used as intended - Autopilot warns drivers if they do not.
Twenty per cent or more thought it would be safe to talk on the phone while using any of the systems. A smaller percentage thought texting, watching a video or taking a nap would be safe. Sixteen per cent said it would be safe to text while using Autopilot; less than 10 per cent thought so for the other driver-assist systems. Six per cent said it would be safe to nap while using Autopilot; about 3 per cent thought the same about the other systems.