[imagesource: Twitter / @KPRC2DEVEN]

I am not sure I would let Tesla take the wheel, but there are people out there who would.

Since the company’s inception in 2003, Tesla owners have been using and abusing the infamous Autopilot feature.

Now, the automakers have a new software update for its long-awaited “Full Self-Driving” beta version 9.

Elon Musk has been promising Tesla customers this full self-driving software update since 2018, but it has been delayed until now because of technological challenges.

The update is for “the definitely-not-autonomous-but-certainly-advanced driver-assist system” according to The Verge, as drivers are still encouraged to keep their hands on the wheel and their eyes on the road.

On Twitter, Musk added a caveat along with the software update, saying “Beta 9 addresses most known issues, but there will be unknown issues, so please be paranoid.”

That’s a strong last word.

Another warning that came with the update says “it may do the wrong thing at the worst time” so drivers should avoid complacency.

The warning puts a lot of onus on the drivers, even though the company refuses to include a more thorough driver-monitoring system to make sure their customers are following safety protocols.

While they could add infrared eye-tracking, the automakers have only mentioned improvements to the cabin camera’s driver monitoring to check for attentiveness.

Tesla introduced Autopilot in 2015 and since then there have been at least 11 deaths from nine crashes in the US that involved the driver assistance system.

In other parts of the world, there have been at least nine deaths in seven additional crashes.

That’s definitely a good reason to stay “paranoid”, but it’s not easy for drivers of Tesla vehicles.

The reason, as per Sky News is that:

Tesla vehicles can be “easily tricked” into driving in autopilot mode with no one at the wheel, according to testers from a major US consumer organisation just days after a Tesla crashed in Texas, killing the two men in the car.

That particular crash is pictured up top.

Tesla’s current self-driving feature is what is known as Level Two (out of six levels), partial automation, by the Society of Automotive Engineers’ standards.

In contrast, in Level Five automation, the car will steer, accelerate and brake without any assistance from the driver, “capable of doing anything an intelligent and experienced human driver could do – including going off-road.”

For now, though, Musk and co. are urging drivers to keep their hands on the wheel and eyes on the road, no matter how easy it is to just doze off, or feel like the car’s got you.

[sources:skynews&theverge]