<story><title>Tesla Was Kicked Off Fatal Crash Probe by NTSB</title><url>https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-04-12/tesla-withdraws-from-ntsb-crash-probe-over-autopilot-data-flap</url></story><parent_chain><item><author>illustrioussuit</author><text>I know nothing about aviation, but isn’t “autopilot” on a commercial plane pretty much just “maintain altitude and heading”? Pilots still have to be engaged and active, right?</text></item><item><author>blensor</author><text>While naming a product should usually be up to the company who creates said product, my opinion on this is that Tesla should no longer be allowed to call this &amp;quot;autopilot&amp;quot;, for public safety reasons.&lt;p&gt;Autopilot is a well known word which suggests a certain level of autonomousness and a car that might kill you if you take your attention away for 6 seconds simply does not qualify for that name. Tesla changing the name from autopilot to something better resembling reality would send a strong message to people to be more careful with using it while the attention is somewhere else</text></item><item><author>mikerathbun</author><text>I get frustrated when Tesla blames the driver for these crashes by saying that they aren&amp;#x27;t touching the wheel or are ignoring messages. It is extremely common for my car to warn me to keep my hands on the when WHILE I have my hands on the wheel. Even shaking it a little will sometimes not cancel out the warnings. It doesn&amp;#x27;t seem to matter if my hands are on the top or bottom of the wheel. Anything short of a deathgrip and constant jiggling of the wheel doesn&amp;#x27;t seem to consistantly register as keeping your hands on the wheel. Anyone who has used Autopilot for a significant amount of time has been beeped at for not having their hands on the wheel even though they are. And yes, the car will make crazy maneuvers at times that no driver in their right mind would make. I still like it and am glad I opted for it, but it is far from earning its namesake.</text></item></parent_chain><comment><author>Area12</author><text>Don&amp;#x27;t miss the point here.  Tesla doesn&amp;#x27;t require that you be a licensed air pilot before you buy the car.  It doesn&amp;#x27;t matter what pilots know about autopilots, it&amp;#x27;s about what the general public believes when they hear &amp;quot;autopilot&amp;quot;.  I wouldn&amp;#x27;t be surprised if 50% of the world believes that an autopilot allows both pilots to leave the cockpit for five or ten minutes.  So the word &amp;quot;autopilot&amp;quot; misleads them, even if a pilot would know the limitations.</text></comment>
<story><title>Tesla Was Kicked Off Fatal Crash Probe by NTSB</title><url>https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-04-12/tesla-withdraws-from-ntsb-crash-probe-over-autopilot-data-flap</url></story><parent_chain><item><author>illustrioussuit</author><text>I know nothing about aviation, but isn’t “autopilot” on a commercial plane pretty much just “maintain altitude and heading”? Pilots still have to be engaged and active, right?</text></item><item><author>blensor</author><text>While naming a product should usually be up to the company who creates said product, my opinion on this is that Tesla should no longer be allowed to call this &amp;quot;autopilot&amp;quot;, for public safety reasons.&lt;p&gt;Autopilot is a well known word which suggests a certain level of autonomousness and a car that might kill you if you take your attention away for 6 seconds simply does not qualify for that name. Tesla changing the name from autopilot to something better resembling reality would send a strong message to people to be more careful with using it while the attention is somewhere else</text></item><item><author>mikerathbun</author><text>I get frustrated when Tesla blames the driver for these crashes by saying that they aren&amp;#x27;t touching the wheel or are ignoring messages. It is extremely common for my car to warn me to keep my hands on the when WHILE I have my hands on the wheel. Even shaking it a little will sometimes not cancel out the warnings. It doesn&amp;#x27;t seem to matter if my hands are on the top or bottom of the wheel. Anything short of a deathgrip and constant jiggling of the wheel doesn&amp;#x27;t seem to consistantly register as keeping your hands on the wheel. Anyone who has used Autopilot for a significant amount of time has been beeped at for not having their hands on the wheel even though they are. And yes, the car will make crazy maneuvers at times that no driver in their right mind would make. I still like it and am glad I opted for it, but it is far from earning its namesake.</text></item></parent_chain><comment><author>rayiner</author><text>Weird pro-Tesla, anti-airliner FUD. A modern airline’s autopilot will handle everything between takeoff and landing, and can land the plane if needed. The A380 auto pilot has been able to respond to TCAS (collision avoidance system) advisories automatically for almost a decade.&lt;p&gt;GA autopilots may be more limited, but that’s not what the general public is thinking of when you say autopilot.</text></comment>