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posted by cmn32480 on Monday October 17 2016, @03:47PM   Printer-friendly
from the keep-your-eyes-on-the-road dept.

Germany's Federal Motor Authority recently sent letters to Tesla drivers reminding them that the "Autopilot" function is for driver assistance, not replacement. Now, Tesla is being warned against advertising the feature:

German Transport Minister Alexander Dobrindt has asked Tesla to stop advertising its electric vehicles as having an Autopilot function as this might suggest drivers' attention is not needed, his ministry said on Sunday.

A spokeswoman for the ministry, confirming a report in the daily Bild am Sonntag (BamS), said the Federal Motor Transport Authority (KBA) had written to Tesla to make the request. "It can be confirmed that a letter to Tesla exists with the request to no longer use the misleading term Autopilot for the driver assistance system of the car," she said in a written response to a Reuters' query.


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  • (Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Monday October 17 2016, @09:08PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Monday October 17 2016, @09:08PM (#415414)

    But they do allow pilots to take their hands away from the controls and concentrate on other tasks for short periods of time. Tesla's 'autopilot' does not.

    What are you talking about?
    Have you not seen all the videos of people doing exactly that?

    Here's one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NqnJRo4FQNo [youtube.com]
    There are tons more.

    Tesla's autopilot does substantially more than an aircraft autopilot. And that's the root of problem.

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  • (Score: 2) by janrinok on Tuesday October 18 2016, @07:06AM

    by janrinok (52) Subscriber Badge on Tuesday October 18 2016, @07:06AM (#415569) Journal
    The root of the problem is that people shouldn't be relying on the Tesla autopilot to the extent that they are doing. The whole point of the German advice is to tell people to stop relying on the autopilot. The claims made by Tesla are misleading and the German government is asking Tesla politely to be more truthful and comply with EU legislation. If they don't respond to a polite request then there are certainly other avenues that the German government could choose to follow e.g. not giving Tesla a certificate of road worthiness in Germany. Tesla can keep the driver assist, call it an autopilot, but they couldn't sell their cars. Now which do you think Tesla would prefer?

    What are you talking about? Have you not seen all the videos of people doing exactly that [... concentrating on other tasks]?

    that the "Autopilot" function is for driver assistance,

    Exactly, we know it happens - idiots even show themselves on Youtube doing it - but they should concentrate on driving the car.

  • (Score: 2) by urza9814 on Thursday October 20 2016, @08:14PM

    by urza9814 (3954) on Thursday October 20 2016, @08:14PM (#416913) Journal

    But they do allow pilots to take their hands away from the controls and concentrate on other tasks for short periods of time. Tesla's 'autopilot' does not.

    What are you talking about?
    Have you not seen all the videos of people doing exactly that?

    Thank you for demonstrating *the exact problem TFA is discussing*.

    Because according to Tesla's own website, that ISN'T actually true. Yes, people do it, but the technology *is not designed to be capable of doing that*. What you're saying is equivalent to saying that a Galaxy Note 7 has a built-in cigarette lighter. Sure, you COULD use it for that under certain circumstances, but that's still not a true statement.

    In its current form, Autopilot is an advanced driver assistance system (ADAS) that classifies as a Level 2 automated system by the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA). It is designed as a hands-on experience to give drivers more confidence behind the wheel, increase their safety on the road, and make highway driving more enjoyable by reducing the driver’s workload.

    Autopilot’s safety and convenience capabilities are designed to be additive to the driver’s by augmenting their perception, improving their decision making, and assisting in their control of the vehicle. Its user interface has been carefully designed to encourage proper use and to give drivers intuitive access to the information the car is using to inform its actions, via a detailed visual display on the instrument panel and clear audible cues. As Autopilot technology continues to be developed, more advanced functionality will be made available to Tesla owners over time nearing full self-driving capabilities; however, until truly driverless cars are developed and approved by regulators, the driver is responsible for and must remain in control of their car at all times.

      - https://www.tesla.com/presskit/autopilot#autopilot [tesla.com] (emphasis added)