Monday, May 14, 2018

Dude, You Called It "Autopilot"



SOUTH JORDAN, Utah — A Tesla sedan with a semi-autonomous Autopilot feature has rear-ended a fire department truck at 60 mph (97 kph) apparently without braking before impact, but police say it’s unknown if the Autopilot feature was engaged.

The cause of the Friday evening crash, involving a Tesla Model S and a fire department mechanic truck stopped at a red light, was under investigation, said police in South Jordan, a suburb of Salt Lake City.

Which might have had nothing to do with what happened, but every single fender bender is going to be big news because you called it Autopilot, told people the cars were basically ready for full autonomy and they could prepay for a software update that never materialized, and otherwise suggested that the technology was better than it is, whatever the fine print.