PMB, this is how Tesla markets the Autopilot feature
Posted by
TWuG
Jul 14 '16, 09:25
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This is the press release for version 7.0. 8.0 should be out by year's end.
There's nothing in this that looks to me like Tesla is saying "sit back and ignore the road". They stress both safety and convenience. But don't absolve the driver of responsibility to maintain control of the vehicle.
A number of cars have all of these features. My wife's 2010 Ford could self park. Adaptive cruise control is standard on many cars. So is collision avoidance.
At least 3 other manufacturers have a similar feature to autosteer. And if a car can maintain lane position, it is only a matter of degree to have it change lane position, not an entirely new function.
Tesla gets called out because the car is not just level 2 autonomous, but because the whole vehicle package is new. New power source, new drivetrain, new sales philosophy. That makes it highly visible. And being highly visible means people pay attention. Often without paying attention to what other manufacturers are doing, largely because what they are doing is strictly additive to an existing concept.
What Tesla is doing with Autopilot isn't unique, but the scrutiny it gets often is.
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