Tesla, the electric car company run by billionaire Elon Musk, is looking for people in Texas to help improve its controversial Autopilot feature. A story from Click2Houston says that the company is looking for Vehicle Operators, or test drivers, in the Houston area to drive cars while the Autopilot system watches and collects data.
It may be important to improve the Autopilot feature because it has a bad track record for safety. The advanced driver aid system is meant to make driving easier and safer while also making things more convenient. Still, it’s been getting a lot of attention since the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) looked into it. This investigation found that Tesla’s Autopilot was linked to 956 accidents, some of which were deadly. According to an NHTSA study cited by Click2Houston, these accidents often involved risks that a careful driver would have been able to avoid.
In a separate article, Chron also talked about how Tesla’s job postings in Houston and Austin make it look like the company is looking for drivers to use engineering cars for Autopilot testing. These drivers have to write daily reports about what they see and any problems they come across. This suggests that Tesla is committed to a hands-on method to critically examine and possibly fix the Autopilot’s flaws.
The federal government is still worried about Tesla’s Autopilot. Gregory Magno, the head of a section at the NHTSA, recently pointed out a video on Tesla’s website that showed a driver not focusing on the road. Since then, Tesla has changed its message to make it clear that the driver should always be ready to take full control. According to Chron, Tesla has changed the image on its Autopilot website to show a more responsible driver with both hands on the wheel while safety reviews are still going on.
Some people who care about auto safety are worried about the effects of President-elect Donald Trump’s victory and the influence of Tesla CEO Elon Musk. Musk has even offered to help make sure that self-driving cars follow national safety rules. But now that Tesla has been open about fixing Autopilot’s flaws, the attention is still on how this technology will change as it is closely watched by regulators and improved road safety is sought.
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