Tesla: The chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board expressed grave reservations about the safety of Tesla’s “Full Self-Driving” (FSD) program last week, but the company has already allowed access to the beta for additional Tesla drivers through a “request” button on the dashboard displays of Teslas’ cars.
As stated on Tesla’s website, a driver’s “safety score,” which is based on five factors, will be determined before they can access the software. This score estimates “the probability that your driving may result in a future accident.”
The score is calculated based on sensor data from the driver’s Tesla and takes into account the number of forward-collision warnings, harsh braking, aggressive turning, dangerous following, and forced Autopilot disengagement that occurs every 1,000 miles. The score is rounded up to the nearest 10 points.
When a Tesla’s Autopilot function detects that a driver has taken their hands off the wheel and has become inattentive, it automatically disengages after three visual and auditory warnings.
“Teslas with FSD aren’t completely autonomous,” according to Elon Musk.
To access FSD, drivers must have a score of at least 80 out of 100 on Tesla’s safety scale, according to the handbook. It is important to note that even with the FSD beta software installed, a Tesla still needs a human driver to operate.
A year after allowing a small number of customers to test the FSD software, Tesla is making it available to the general public. This option was made available to Tesla customers who purchased the now-discontinued Enhanced Autopilot package in July for a monthly fee of $199.
Before then, the FSD bundle cost $10,000 and could be purchased just once. According to the conditions on Tesla’s website, owners of a Tesla can terminate their monthly FSD membership at any time.
When asked about Tesla’s usage of the phrase “full self-driving,” NTSB chair Jennifer Homendy said last week that the firm should first solve “fundamental safety concerns” before moving forward with FSD. “Tesla has obviously persuaded many individuals to misuse and abuse technology,” according to Homendy,” The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) may investigate and offer recommendations, but it does not have enforcement power.
If you’ve been following the Tesla blog, you’ve probably noticed that Musk responded to an editorial on Saturday in which he questioned whether or not the company had a “fair chance” in light of Homendy’s comments with a link to the editable version of her Wikipedia page. As of this writing, the paragraph titled “Tesla criticism” links to news stories about her most recent comments. Musk remained silent on the subject on Twitter.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) September 25, 2021
Tesla’s press email did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Sunday morning; the business closed its press office and now very rarely responds to media inquiries. A request for comment was not answered by the NTSB either.
