The regulator wording is precise, yet necessarily open to investigation results.
Tesla “driverless” claims are apparently impossible, so the NHTSA has opened a formal case regarding hardware defects (from 2016 to today) too severe to ignore.
The Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) has identified four Standing General Order (SGO) reports in which a Tesla vehicle experienced a crash after entering an area of reduced roadway visibility conditions with FSD -Beta or FSD -Supervised (collectively, FSD) engaged. In these crashes, the reduced roadway visibility arose from conditions such as sun glare, fog, or airborne dust. In one of the crashes, the Tesla vehicle fatally struck a pedestrian. One additional crash in these conditions involved a reported injury. The four SGO crash reports are listed at the end of this summary by SGO number.
ODI has opened a Preliminary Evaluation of FSD (a system labeled by Tesla as a partial driving automation system),which is optionally available in the Model Year (MY) 2016-2024 Models S and X, 2017-2024 Model 3, 2020-2024 Model Y, and 2023-2024 Cybertruck.
In other words, Tesla has claimed it can see the road when it can’t see the road.
The infamous cost-cutting “camera” marketing stunts of Elon Musk have done exactly what was expected by safety experts; failed to deliver.
Reuters puts it far too mildly:
Tesla’s “camera-only” approach to partially and fully autonomous driving systems, some industry experts have said, could cause issues in low-visibility conditions as the vehicles do not have a set of back-up sensors.
Some industry experts? What kind of industry expert didn’t think Tesla FSD would fail to become safe? It’s fraud, and only a matter of time before the hidden causes of mass suffering are exposed.
I guess Reuters also could say some analysts on Wall Street really believed Bernie Madoff investments could have worked out. The fact anyone believes Musk or Madoff is the problem.
There’s no driverless that requires the driver always to be the eyes and ears. And we see an official investigation now proving that Tesla will never achieve eyes.
Right Mobileye? The undisputed world leader in driverless technology quietly warned industry experts in 2016 when Tesla split off in an “ethics” dispute.
There’s no Tesla without fraud.