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Comment by redial | Hacker News Reader

Jeez, that damned media again misinforming people. Who could have expected a feature called AUTOPILOT to mean self driving, who?!

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Anyone who knows what an autopilot [1] is understands that it does not make an aircraft autonomous. It's an assistive device - a stabilizer for wings and pitch.

To call the Tesla Model S an "autonomous vehicle" simply because it has a feature called autopilot is disingenuous.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autopilot

Only licensed aviators know the difference... Also in that In 1947 a US Air Force C-54 made a transatlantic flight, including takeoff and landing, completely under the control of an autopilot.

That's really cool - but just like driverless cars, it's the exception to the rule for what an autopilot system does.

> Anyone who knows what an autopilot [1] is [...]

I strongly suspect that is a small minority of buyers.

I don't know about legality, but imo there is an argument to be made that it's very unethical to feign ignorance as to what the vast majority associates "autopilot" with.

I do have a problem with some of their marketing material - which describes the car as having "Fully Self-Driving Capability." No, the Model S doesn't have the capability to drive itself fully right now, and it's unethical to lead consumers to believe it does.

But in my view, the name "autopilot" itself describes a device for pilots, providing a very similar level of partial assistance to Tesla's current feature. It is accurate. The problem arises when it's sold beyond its traditional meaning.

This fails the Reasonable Person test. Most people on the street are not aviators, and their assumption is that "autopilot = full autonomy", which is entirely understandable.

"Tesla is extremely clear that Autopilot requires the driver to be alert and have hands on the wheel. This reminder is made every single time Autopilot is engaged."

A reasonable person would not take this to mean that the car is driverless.

1. Tesla says it requires hands on wheel. 2. It has sensors to confirm this. 3. The sensors allow you a few seconds (a lot of seconds? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rfvkw1TIiM4) with hands off wheels before warning you.

So, which is it, Tesla? Is hands off wheel allowed, or not allowed? If it's not allowed, why do you program your sensors to tolerate the situation?

> The sensors allow you a few seconds (a lot of seconds

It used to allow you _fifteen minutes_...

So anyone with an aviation license, gotcha. That should take care of at least 0.02% of the population.

Not to mention the fact that the marketing around it strongly encourages that interpretation (showing people driving without touching the steering wheel, etc.)

This is the part that is upsetting to me, not the name of the feature. "Fully self-driving capability" suggests that it is one hundred percent self-driving (and therefore will not require a human to drive it). That part's a lie, and a dangerous one.

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