Tesla Inc’s decision to fix more than two million vehicles’ Autopilot driver-assistance systems after a US federal probe drew some praise from safety advocates, but many said the company should be taking additional steps to ensure drivers are paying full attention at the wheel.
George Mason University professor Mary “Missy” Cummings, who has been critical of Tesla’s Autopilot software, stated that it is a positive step but more needs to be done.
After a years-long investigation, the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration decided that Tesla’s Autopilot doesn’t do enough to guard against misuse, resulting in Tesla’s largest recall ever.
Tesla, in its December 12 recall report, announced that it anticipated deploying over-the-air software to add additional controls and alerts on that day or shortly after. The company did not respond to a request for comment on the recall or NHTSA’s investigation.
Cummings, a former US Navy pilot who also worked for NHTSA, expressed skepticism that Tesla’s fixes would go beyond what regulators require.
She suggested that Tesla should consider implementing a system that requires drivers to have good internal driving scores to access Autopilot and restrict its use in areas it’s not designed for, like city streets.
Michael Brooks, executive director of the Center for Auto Safety, agreed that Tesla should only be praised so much and cited concerns about the system’s repeated failures to detect and respond to emergency personnel and other related hazards.
William Wallace, associate director of safety policy at Consumer Reports, criticized Tesla’s delay in initiating the recall and noted the need for NHTSA to have a greater ability to force recalls when companies are dragging their feet.
US Senators Richard Blumenthal and Edward Markey, Democrats from Connecticut and Massachusetts, respectively, issued a statement calling the Autopilot recall “egregiously overdue” and urging NHTSA to continue its investigations and Tesla to stop misleading drivers and endangering the public.
