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Germany's Federal Motor Authority Warns Tesla Over "Autopilot" Advertising

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

takyon writes:

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: 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)

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