Tesla Is Revamping Autopilot Functionality

Tesla Model S (Credit: Car and Driver)

Right after Tesla launched its nifty Autopilot and Autosteer systems for the Model S, human stupidity took over and ruined all the fun. Despite the company issuing specific warnings about the technology’s use, drivers decided to do everything they weren’t supposed to, and then complain that their car “tried to kill” them.

With all of the YouTube videos and forum posts about Model S sedans strafing into oncoming traffic and such, Tesla is now taking action. When the 7.1 firmware upgrade arrives, drivers should notice that things are different.

According to an anonymous source on Tesla enthusiast site Teslarati, the new technologies can only be turned on when the car is traveling under the speed limit for a certain stretch of road. Already, some Model S owners are complaining that Tesla is a killjoy, when they should be mad at their reckless fellow drivers.

This isn’t some big surprise, because CEO Elon Musk already said the company has been working on a way to put more controls on Autosteer and Autopilot. Also, the autonomous tech has been in beta form, so expecting it to not evolve rapidly is naïve, at best.

Here we have a case of humans doing stupid things so the rest of humanity can’t have nice things. While Autosteer and Autopilot aren’t going away, they’ll definitely have more nanny features designed to protect Tesla from legal liabilities. Volvo and a few other automakers have already stepped up, stating that they’ll take responsibility for their cars crashing when operating in autonomous mode. These features from Tesla certainly don’t make the Model S fully autonomous, but there’s definitely a risk from drivers not exercising common sense or following simple directions from Tesla.

In other words, technology is only what people make of it. Autonomous cars could be tremendous time savers, or people could choose to abuse the tech in all kinds of irresponsible ways. As more vehicles become increasingly autonomous, how different companies deal with the human factor will be interesting to see.