Tesla plans to expand access to its Full Self-Driving system for navigating city streets--moving beyond using it mainly along highways--even as a top government official raises concerns.
“Basic safety issues have to be addressed before they’re then expanding [the city driving tool] to other city streets and other areas,” Jennifer Homendy, the new head of the National Transportation Safety Board, told the Wall Street Journal.
She called Tesla’s use of the term Full Self-Driving “misleading and irresponsible,” according to the report, adding the term has “clearly misled numerous people to misuse and abuse technology.”
Tesla CEO Elon Musk said in a tweet last week that Tesla plans to monitor the driving patterns of customers who request the FSD system enhancement and could have their access revoked. “2000 beta users operating for almost a year with no accidents. Needs to stay that way,” Musk also tweeted. Those 2,000 owners were mainly testers in California.
It isn’t clear where more FSD enhancements will be deployed. Tesla distinguishes between Full Self Driving and Autopilot on its Web site. The company charges up to $200 per month for a subscription to move from Basic Autopilot to FSD capability or or $10,000 for the full suite.
Tesla notes that it uses 8 external cameras and 12 ultrasonic sensors along with an onboard computer to provide added safety. Both Autopilot and Full Self-driving capability are “intended for use with a fully attentive driver, who has their hands on the wheel and is prepared to take over any moment,” according to the Tesla website.
Autopilot offers Traffic-Aware Cruise Control to match the speed of a Tesla to that of the surrounding traffic and Autosteer to assist in steering within clearly marked lanes, relying upon Traffic-Aware Cruise Control.
Full Self-Driving offers Navigate on Autopilot (in beta) to actively guide a Tesla from an on-ramp to off-ramp to off-ramp, including suggesting lane changes, navigating interchanges and automatically engaging the turn signal and the correct exit. Other features include Auto Lane Change, Autopark, Summon (to move a car in and out of a tight space using the mobile app or key), Smart Summon, and Traffic and Stop Sign Control (in beta). Listed now under the website as “upcoming” is Autosteer on city streets. All the capabilities re provided through continuous upgrades over the air.
New Street Research said about 360,000 Tesla owners had purchased FSD as of July, which is about one-fifth of the entire Tesla fleet.
The concerns aired by the NTSB head come after the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration launched a probe in August following a number of crashes involving Teslas that had been operating with Autopilot turned on and in some cases ran into parked emergency vehicles.
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The NTSB is not a regulatory body, as is NHTSA, although NTSB issues safety guidance.
Tesla officials have said repeatedly its cars are the safest on the road and on average get into fewer accidents due to active safety systems.