First look at Tesla’s latest Autopilot (2.5) computer in Model 3, S, X vehicles

I'll admit to being a huge Tesla fanboy, but I think Musk exaggerates the current capabilities of Autopilot and definitely over-promises how quickly it's going to improve.

As for the name, the eventual goal will be true autopilot, but since we're still so many years away from level 5 automation, it really should be called something else for now.

I think part of the problem is that technical people tend to understand that aviation autopilots are supervised assist mechanisms, whether via indirect knowledge or direct knowledge. Aviation is a common interest among technical people, and flying is a reasonably popular hobby in Silicon Valley, at least compared to areas with more typical incomes.

From that POV, sure, what Tesla offers is pretty comparable to a plane's autopilot. But the popular conception of autopilot is much different, closer to an autonomous robot that makes the pilot completely superfluous, and that's what needs to be considered.

Even if it weren't an actual hazard (which I think it is) to set that expectation, that perception is probably not doing Tesla's image any favors as it tends to remove any assumption of responsibility for an accident from the human driver. From a strictly business standpoint, it feels like the wrong move.