In April, Consumer Reports said it was able to operate a Model Y on Autopilot without a driver behind the wheel. (YouTube/Consumer Reports)
A man was arrested earlier this week for driving recklessly in the Bay Area, but this was not an ordinary speeding ticket or DUI. The man was reportedly cruising in the backseat of a Tesla, on more than one occasion, with nobody else in the driver’s seat.
Over the past few weeks, Tesla has said this was impossible. Elon Musk denied that Autopilot was engaged during a deadly accident last month near Houston. During the company’s quarterly earnings call at the end of April, he said that journalists should be ashamed of their coverage of the crash. Local authorities initially told reporters that nobody was in the driver’s seat when first responders arrived, which many news outlets, including the WSJ, covered. On April 19, in response to someone’s skepticism about the coverage, Musk tweeted, “Your research as a private individual is better than professionals @WSJ!”
It wouldn’t be the first time Tesla owners outwitted their cars, though.
For years, reports have surfaced about drivers evading vehicle safety systems that are meant to detect whether a driver’s hands are actively on the steering wheel. And while other major car manufacturers have integrated eye-monitoring cameras to ensure drivers are engaged at the wheel, Tesla obstinately refuses to do so.
Would it really be that surprising if Tesla owners had figured out a way to trick their cars into thinking they were still in the driver’s seat? After last month’s crash in Texas, Consumer Reports confirmed that its test drivers were able to operate a Model Y on Autopilot without anyone at the wheel, too.
No other consumer vehicles claim to be capable of full autonomy. Even Tesla recently admitted to the California DMV that its “Full Self-Driving” software is a lower-level driver assistance technology.
Autonomous cars are classified into five levels. Only at the highest level, Level 5, is a car capable of being fully autonomous in any conditions with no need for human intervention. Tesla maxes out at Level 2.
Google’s Waymo has been testing a Level 4 autonomous car service in Phoenix area since 2017, and in 2020 the company said that up to 10% of rides were fully driverless. It’s trying to expand its services to San Francisco beginning with paid deliveries. Earlier this year, Waymo applied for a permit with the California DMV that would allow them to charge consumers for autonomous car services. GM’s Cruise is also trying to deploy commercial services in the Golden State.
Tesla’s technology may have the potential to make driving much safer. But the marketing spin it uses to sell electric vehicles and expensive “Full Self-Driving” upgrades is misleading, giving consumers a false sense of safety. And that’s what makes them dangerous.
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