Tesla CEO Elon Musk said on Twitter that the company would be phasing out driver monitoring used with one of its Level 2 autonomous driving systems, and that the key US road safety regulator was investigating. .
The so-called Full Self-Driving Beta uses both the interior camera and the steering wheel to detect if the driver is paying attention to the road, but Mr. Musk said the second input would be removed.
When asked if it was possible to remove the “steering wheel hum” for users who have traveled more than 10,000 miles (16,093km) on the FSD Beta, Mr Musk said he agreed and confirmed the change would be made. show up in January.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) Reuters it is “contacting Tesla to obtain more information”.
NHTSA conducted an investigation of 830,000 Tesla vehicles to investigate an issue with vehicles using Autopilot, another Level 2 system, that crashed into parked emergency vehicles.
Part of this poll is to determine if Tesla vehicles are sufficiently secure for an attentive driver.
At least 14 Tesla vehicles have crashed into emergency vehicles while using Autopilot, while NHTSA has investigated a total of 35 crashes since 2016 using Autopilot or FSD, with 19 fatalities.
In another investigation of 416,000 vehicles, NHTSA is also investigating complaints about ghost brakes in Tesla Model 3 and Model Y vehicle.
According to the company, the Full Self-Driving Beta is being used by about 160,000 Tesla vehicles.
Like Autopilot, Tesla says on its website that the system requires “the driver’s full attention, hands on the wheel, and ready to take over at any moment.”
To activate Autopilot, Tesla says drivers need to agree to keep their hands on the wheel at all times and to “remain in control and accountable” of the vehicle at all times, though the company has a time-lapse video on its page. My website shows this system. used without the driver putting their hands on the steering wheel.
In addition to the NHTSA probes, which have yet to lead to any enforcement action, the American automaker is believed to criminal investigation object by the US Department of Justice around its Autopilot system.
Prosecutors in Washington DC and San Francisco are reportedly examining whether Tesla misled consumers, investors and regulators by making unsubstantiated claims about its ability driver assistance technology.
While Tesla does put a disclaimer on its website that its Level 2 systems don’t make the car fully autonomous, there have been some mixed messages from the company’s CEO. company.
During an earnings call late last yearCEO Elon Musk said an update coming out in 2023 would “be able to show regulators that cars are much, much safer than the average human.”
“We will achieve full self-driving – I think that will happen 100%. And I think we’re almost there. And then, of course, we have to prove it to regulators and get regulatory approvals, which is beyond our control,” Musk said.
“But anyone who is driving a fully self-driving car — having a fully self-driving Beta in a car, you can see the speed improvement. You can only experience for yourself that we are, in fact, getting there. In fact, we were almost there. And so we can get to that 100 percent.”
He said cars with a fully Self-Driving beta will “be able to get you from home to work, to friends’ houses, to the grocery store without you touching the wheel”.
Musk said Tesla will complete the widespread release of the so-called Fully Self-Driving Beta by the end of last year across North America to any buyers who have placed an order.
But he’s a bit unclear to what degree of autonomy Tesla is precisely targeting, giving two seemingly different answers in the same breath.
“It’s like we’re not saying it’s completely ready to leave no one behind the wheel. It’s just that you’ll almost never have to touch the controller, the vehicle controller,” Musk said last year.
“There is a longer process called the march of the 9s, like how many 9s do you need in terms of reliability before you can really comfortably say the car can be driven without anyone sitting. Inside.
“But I think we’ll be close to reaching a full nine that you won’t have anyone in the car by the end of the year. And certainly, without a question, anything on my mind, next year.”
Level 5 vehicles, as defined by the Society of Automotive Engineers, do not require a steering wheel or pedals and can drive themselves in any situation at all times.
In contrast, Level 4 systems are self-driving by default but can be equipped with wheels and pedals, and can drive themselves in any road situation they are designed to operate in.
Level 3 systems are slowly being introduced by automakers, with Honda introducing the technology in the Japanese market. Legendary and Mercedes-Benz launched it in Germany in WORLD RANGE and EQS.
At this level of autonomy, drivers by definition don’t need to pay attention to what’s going on around them, although they still need to be alert and alert to take over if the vehicle fails to handle anything. or the journey is interrupted. is about to end.
The manufacturer is also responsible for the vehicle when it runs in this mode.
Tesla has continued to go against the growing trend of implementing Lidar for its driver assistance technology and even omitted radar and ultrasonic sensors when it launched a camera-only setup called Tesla Vision.
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