Almost three years later Fatal crash involving two Tesla drivers in clashes with truck Due to the use of Autopilot, Tesla has not made any significant changes to its driver assistance technology, according to various engineers.
Autopilot, which has long been touted as a milestone in the evolution of the automotive industry and a step towards autonomous drivingseems to have been a source of significant pressure for the company and Elon Musk. This pressure comes from consumers, regulators and federal law enforcement. In addition, the company is subject to several investigations National Highway Traffic Safety Administration regarding potential defects associated with this technology that could be related to at least 17 accidents fatalities since June 2021. However, Musk continues to claim that Tesla cars are the safest vehicles on the market right now.
Reviews two autopilot engineersChris Payne and Niklas Gustafsson play a central role in the latest case of the Banner family. Both of their statements were included in the family’s motion to amend their previous complaint and add a claim for damages. According to Gustafsson, Autopilot has been released no cross traffic detection, which he found difficult to explain when asked why Tesla chose not to use cross-traffic sensors. Payne also said that the Autopilot was reportedly only designed for use on center-divided highways because “technically it was ‘very difficult’ for the hardware and software to account for cross-traffic.”
Speaking to The Register, Payne explained that the autopilot is designed to detect the presence of a center divider and smart enough to turn it off if no center splitter is detected. However, “you can turn on and use the autopilot if there is no center divider and it will still work,” Payne said in his testimony.
Gustafsson commented on very similar words and also stated that he had investigated Brown’s death in 2016 as part of his job, noting that while Tesla was so aware of the issue, “no changes were made to the autopilot systems to account for cross-traffic.”