Tesla Autopilot is “intended for use on controlled-access highways”, i.e. freeways, “with a fully attentive driver”, according to Tesla’s owner manual. However, recent tests conducted by The Dawn Project have revealed that Autopilot can be engaged and activated on roads it is not designed to be used on.
Video: Tesla Autopilot can be engaged on roads it is not designed to be used on
Autopilot can also still be engaged on any road with lane markings, and is not restricted to the “controlled-access highways” that Tesla states it is safe to use on.
This means that Tesla’s self-driving software can activate outside of its Operational Design Domain i.e., in areas where the software could not reliably operate, such as highways with cross-traffic.
This defect was identified in the lawsuit following a crash involving Dillon Angulo in Key Largo, Florida, in 2019, where a self-driving Tesla blew past a stop sign before crashing into a parked vehicle through a T intersection.
By allowing Tesla’s dangerous and defective software to operate outside of its Operational Design Domain, millions of road users are endangered on a daily basis, and tragically lives have been lost as a result of this negligence and contempt for public safety.
The Angulo crash, however, is not an isolated example of Autopilot crashes on roads where it was not safe for the software to operate.
On May 7th, 2016, Joshua Brown was killed when his Tesla Model S sedan collided with a tractor-trailer that was crossing the Tesla’s path on US Highway 27A, near Williston, Florida:
Following the fatal collision, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigated the collision and demanded that Tesla “incorporate safeguards that limit use of automated vehicle control systems to those conditions for which they were designed”.
Three years later, Jeremy Banner died when his Tesla Model 3 collided with a semi-truck at approximately 70mph, in Delray Beach, Florida, while also operating on Autopilot mode.
Banner’s Tesla collided with a semi-truck, shearing off its roof as it slid under the truck’s trailer. He was tragically killed on impact.
Once again, the NTSB investigated the collision and found that Tesla Autopilot “allows a driver to activate the partial driving automation systems at locations and under circumstances for which their use is not appropriate, safe, or included in the manufacturer’s design, such as roadways that have cross traffic”.
We believe the public safety epidemic engendered by Elon Musk and Tesla’s reckless deployment of millions of self-driving Teslas should concern us all.
That is why we are broadcasting our message during the Super Bowl, to inform and educate as many Americans as possible about this vital public safety issue.
That Tesla allows Autopilot to be engaged on roads where it is not intended to operate demonstrates Tesla’s blatant disregard for public safety.
People have died because of Tesla’s disregard for road users and the American public.
Over the years, Tesla has repeatedly demonstrated its willingness to endanger and deceive the public in relation to their vehicles and their safety.