Elon Musk is probably taking a knee right now. Not because Black Lives Matter – but because riots on that pretext have shunted attention away from another Auto-piloted crash.
And death.
Last year, a Tesla decapitated itself by running into – and underneath – a tractor trailer it didn’t “see.” Neither did its driver, who saw nothing ever again – after his decapitation. Now another Tesla has done the four-wheeled Louis XVI – losing its head to a semi it didn’t “see.”
Tesla, of course, blames the driver – whom it encouraged not to.
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A cognitively dissonant statement was released after the wreck, as follows:
“Our data shows that when used properly by an attentive driver, who is prepared to take control at all times . . .” the system is the apogee of safety.
Italic added.
An “attentive driver”?
Isn’t the whole point of Autopilot in particular and automated driving tech in general to enable the driver to not be attentive? What would be the point of a self-driving car that requires the driver to be “prepared to take control at all times”? Isn’t that what a driver is supposed to do?
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The gaslighting is stupendous.
On the one hand, Tesla pitches the self-driving capability of its cars. That – and virtue signaling about driving an electric car – are the main reasons people buy Teslas. Otherwise, why not just buy a Camry?
On the other hand, Tesla holds the driver responsible for not driving the car when it drives itself into something.
It is like selling a leaky boat and blaming the guy who bought it when it sinks.
Which, when you think about it, isn’t entirely off base.
