Germany Warns Tesla Drivers That Autopilot is Not... an Autopilot
- by Nick Cohen
- in Industry
- — Oct 18, 2016
Over the weekend Reuters reported that Germany's transport ministry requested the electric vehicle maker stopped using "Autopilot" in advertisements, as this could lead to misunderstandings and endanger drivers. Due to that, the German Transport regulator, the Federal Motor Transport Authority (KBA), has sent a letter to the company to stop it from advertising the autopilot function of their cars since that term could be misled and could compromise the life of Tesla's costumers.
According to a report by Reuters, the Federal Motor Authority of Germany has said that the Autopilot feature available in Tesla cars is only for the assistance of drivers. She also stressed that Tesla has always said that the autopilot system requires the attention of its drivers at all times.
"Tesla's Autopilot operates in conjunction with the human driver to make driving safer and less stressful".
The warning from German officials comes after media has pegged Tesla's technology a failure after several crashes.
Ever since auto crash reports started coming in, Tesla has been clarifying its stance that people should use the feature with their hands on the steering wheel.
A German motor authority has told U.S. carmaker Tesla to drop the Autopilot name for its cars which use self-driving technology.
The KBA also wrote to owners of Tesla cars to tell them that the vehicle shouldn't be operated without them giving constant attention and that they need to remain alert behind the wheel at all times.
Just as in an airplane, when used properly, Autopilot reduces driver workload and provides an added layer of safety when compared to purely manual driving.
Tesla's Autopilot feature is created to make driving easier, but not to replace the driver entirely.
In January, a 23-year-old Chinese man died when his Tesla Model S slammed into a parked road sweeper near the city of Handan, in Hebei province.
The Kraftfahrt-Bundesamt did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
"We have great confidence in our German customers, and as far as we are aware, none of them have misunderstood the meaning [of the autopilot function]", the firm said.
Earlier this month, Tesla co-founder and CEO Elon Musk confirmed that the company is going to conduct an event on October 17th where it's going to unveil a new product.
