As a person who in robotics, believe me when I say that I am interested in these technologies being developed and tested. That said, I am aware that a major PR battle is the last thing that the industry needs right now.

I think that Tesla is doing a disservice to the rest of the industry by being overly zealous with their marketing and naming department. "Autopilot" is a bit of an exaggeration that needlessly oversells what is effectively a lane-assist feature. By saying that it's "autopilot" they set an expectation of a high degree of autonomy, and thereby influence how their technology is perceived and evaluated both by users and the press. Fatal accidents caused by incorrect use of a "Lane Assist" is a very different headline than an accident caused by "Autopilot."

Tesla is not the only manufacturer with some kind of active cruise control, they just get a lot of attention because they like to pretend they are selling autonomous cars. I am just crossing my fingers that their recklessness will not cause a significant setback to autonomous car technology in general. Tesla hand waving away safety concerns by quoting dodgy apples-to-oranges "statistics" doesn't exactly make me feel warm and fuzzy.