Insurance Company May Sue Tesla Because Autopilot Feature Doesn't Really Autopilot

On August 7, Mark Molthan crashed his Model S on Highway 175 in Kaufman, Texas after failing to navigate a bend when Autopilot was enabled and, in doing so, might have steered autonomous driving tech in totally murky waters.

While Molthan admitted in an interview with Automotive News that he wasn't paying full attention at the time of the crash, he says Autopilot lulls you into a false sense of security.

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TheSteve - 8/23/2016 12:15:43 PM

+6 Boost

AutoPilot is just a product name, albeit a bad one for a product that is just a driver-assist system.

Furthermore, Tesla TELLS users this! It warns them that they must always remain in control of the vehicle when engaging the product. In no way does it present the product as an autonomous system. These are vitally important facts!

We have a situation in which a very small number of drivers either choose to ignore Tesla's written warning (ignorance) and assume it is fully autonomous, or they are aware it is just a driver-assist system and yet they make really bad decisions, like choosing to watch a Harry Potter video instead of controlling the vehicle while it hurls along at 60 MPH on a highway.

In the most litigious nation on the planet -- with more lawyers per capita than the next 5 nations combined! -- it does not surprise me that U.S. insurance companies don't like payouts, and they want to get their money back from someone, and they'll use the "legal" system to do that. Sue on :-(

Agent009 - 8/23/2016 1:41:29 PM

+2 Boost

I agree 100%, but no one reads the manual anymore, also with 20+ page EULA agreements common, it is to the point where EVERYONE simply clicks to get it going.

Tesla might have considered an "acclimation mode" where the first 100 miles or so the driver is forced to interact with the system more than normal, gradually reducing the monitoring to normal levels at the end.

Therefore you train those they don't read instruction. The ones most likely to have an issue. Then Tesla can say 100% you were taught how to use the system as designed and any accidents after that are on you.

SanJoseDriver - 8/23/2016 3:43:23 PM

+2 Boost

Acclimation mode is a pretty good idea for this iteration of autopilot. This is all a temporary issue until future iterations where full autonomy is possible.

MDarringer - 8/23/2016 7:09:45 PM

0 Boost

DELICIOUS. I love the insurance company.

mpls - 8/24/2016 4:18:50 AM

+2 Boost

"herefore you train those they don't read instruction. The ones most likely to have an issue. Then Tesla can say 100% you were taught how to use the system as designed and any accidents after that are on you."

Naive !! so you remove any blame for tesla even if the system has fault's. This neither protects the consumer nor tesla itself..