Sign up for daily news updates from CleanTechnica on email. Or follow us on Google News!
Tesla continues to bang the drum for its misleadingly named Full Self Driving technology package. The problem is that it is not even close to offering full self driving capability, a fact that has convinced the Department for Transport (DfT) in the UK to disallow most Tesla driver-assist features which claim to permit drivers to remove their hands from the steering wheel as their cars perform normal driving duties.
Originally, the plans submitted by Tesla to DfT called for its cars to be almost fully autonomous, but now its plans have become so watered down that its autonomous features are no different than what you’ll find on many vehicles from an array of other automakers, according to The Telegraph. That report requires a subscription, but excerpts from it have been published by Autoblog.
DfT officials raise concerns over Tesla’s automation features, mostly due to their safety, The Telegraph wrote, based on its examination of documents submitted by Tesla to DfT. In the original plans, the company claimed vehicles with Full Self Driving features would be able to make lane changes, stop and start at traffic lights, and make turns without drivers needing to have their hands on the steering wheel.
But since then, the plans were changed. In the new version, the cars are allowed to perform simple maneuvers such as lane changes but only on highways and when drivers have their hands on the wheel. In September 2024, DfT officials proposed restrictions to the Tesla FSD platform. “Introducing system-initiated maneuvers is a significant step which entails a degree of unknown. Whilst [a driver assistance system] may help in reducing collisions, it may also introduce new safety risks,” the agency said.
In January, officials from Norway, the Netherlands, Sweden, and the UK requested more evidence on the safety of driver assistance features. While saying the features are “promising,” the nations raised concerns over how assisted driving or full automation would affect driver behavior and situational awareness. The concerns about situational awareness have been expressed by many safety experts.
Everyone in the world not named Elon Musk knows there is a fundamental flaw in a system that offers drivers the luxury of not keeping their attention focused on the road ahead while requiring them to remain vigilant and engaged at all times.
Last century, making toast required constant attention in the kitchen to keep the bread from burning. Then automatic toasters came on the market and people could do other things in the kitchen while their toast was done to just the way they liked it. If you told those people they had to stand over their toasters and monitor them constantly to prevent the toast from burning, they would think you were a perfect jackass. In essence, that is the fable Elon has been pushing for nearly a decade and few have had the temerity to call him out for his deception.
In fact, people all around the world are happy to pony up around $8,000 to buy a system that is always days, weeks, months, or years away from working as advertised. PT Barnum was right — there’s a sucker born every minute.
The DfT officials who raised concerns about the safety of assisted driving also want Tesla to introduce driver assistance features “in phases.” Noting that 88 percent of accidents in the UK involve “human error,” a DfT spokesperson for the agency said “advanced driver assistant technology could play a crucial role in reducing accidents and saving lives.” Tesla has never been able to prove its Full Self Driving platform is safe or that it can — or should — be trusted more than a human driver, despite trying to launch it without approval several times. The challenge for the UK now is trying to resolve how Tesla will launch its self driving features while also prioritizing safety.
Tesla FSD Trial In China Ends After One Week
Recently, the price of Tesla shares surged on the news that its Full Self Driving system would soon be available in China, but that happy circumstance lasted just a week. Tesla has now suspended its free FSD trial in China and will need regulatory approval to resume. The pause is due to a change in Chinese policy which imposes stricter oversight for advanced driver assist system software updates. The new regulatory rules enacted in late February by China’s industry ministry require Tesla and all other automakers with autonomous programs to submit detailed technical information before remotely releasing a software update to their fleet.
“According to the requirements of the latest Notice on Further Strengthening the Management of Access, Recall and Online Software Upgrade of Intelligent Connected Vehicle Products, the team is completing the approval of the 3.0 and 4.0 hardware corresponding to the intelligent assisted driving software,” Grace Tao, Tesla’s vice president for China, said. Despite years of trying and trillions of terabytes of computing power spent trying, Tesla has been unable to train FSD technology from its two million vehicles in the country because of the nation’s strict data laws. Specifically, Tesla has experienced difficulty adapting to China specific road regulations in areas like bus lanes.
The biggest challenge to Tesla is not getting people to pay for FSD, it is companies like BYD that are now offering similar systems that perform better as standard equipment in some models, and providing similar technology even in cars that cost less than $16,000. Why pay extra for a toaster that will burn the toast if you don’t pay strict attention to it when you can get one that does a better job for free? BYD has three levels of what it calls its God’s Eye technology. Level C is similar to Tesla’s technology in that it has a suite of cameras, but it also includes radar and is included in several new entry level models that cost about half as much as the cheapest Tesla. Level B adds a Lidar sensor and will be included in the new Denza N9 three-row plug-in hybrid from BYD.
In 2016, Elon Musk trumpeted that a Tesla would soon leave California and drive itself cross country to New York City without any human hand on the wheel. Today, regulators around the world are getting tired of waiting and Musk’s desperate attempts to make it so through the sheer force of his will are looking just plain silly.
Whether you have solar power or not, please complete our latest solar power survey.
[embedded content]
Chip in a few dollars a month to help support independent cleantech coverage that helps to accelerate the cleantech revolution!
Have a tip for CleanTechnica? Want to advertise? Want to suggest a guest for our CleanTech Talk podcast? Contact us here.
Sign up for our daily newsletter for 15 new cleantech stories a day. Or sign up for our weekly one if daily is too frequent.
Advertisement
CleanTechnica uses affiliate links. See our policy here.
CleanTechnica’s Comment Policy
Share this story!