WASHINGTON — Tesla it shouldn’t call its driving system partially automated Autopilot because cars can’t drive themselves, says top US transportation official.
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg he says he is concerned about Tesla’s commercialization of the system, which is under investigation by his department in connection with crashes that have left at least 14 people dead.
“I don’t think something should be called, say, an autopilot, when the fine print says you have to have your hands on the wheel and your eyes on the road at all times,” Buttigieg said in an interview with The Associated Press.
THE National Road Traffic Safety Administrationan agency of the Buttigieg department, sent investigative teams to more than 30 incidents since 2016 in which the Teslas suspected of operating on automatic pilot or its more sophisticated driving assistance system called Full Self-Driving system have hit pedestrians, motorcyclists, semi-trailers and parked emergency vehicles.
Probes are part of a larger investigation by NHTSA in multiple instances of Teslas using Autopilot crashing into parked emergency vehicles tending to other crashes. THE NHTSA has become more aggressive in pursuing security issues with Tesla over the past year, announcing multiple remember and investigations.
Tesla, based in Austin, Texas, did not immediately return messages left by the AP Thursday seeking comment.
Autopilot can keep a car in its lane and away from vehicles in front, while fully autonomous driving can multitask driving. But either way, Tesla tells owners they must always be ready to intervene.
Buttigieg said the Department of Transportation will hold Tesla or any other company accountable for meeting federal safety standards. “We call balls and shots,” she said. “I see it as something where it’s very important to be very objective. But whenever a company does something wrong or a vehicle needs a recall or a project isn’t safe, we’ll be there.”
In Wednesday’s interview, Buttigieg said self-driving vehicles have enormous potential to reduce the nearly 40,000 deaths on US roads that occur each year, a level he called unacceptable. But he said the technology hasn’t been demonstrated yet. “It’s far from automatic fulfilling that potential,” he said she. “That’s what we’re trying to model here at the Department of Transportation.”
NHTSA is also looking into Tesla’s fully autonomous driving system. In February, the agency lobbied Tesla recalling nearly 363,000 vehicles with the software because the system can break Traffic Laws. The problem had to be fixed with an online software update.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk he said plans to have fully autonomous vehicles this year, a commitment he made for several years. “The trend is very clearly towards fully autonomous driving,” Musk said in April. “And I hesitate to say, but I think we’ll do it this year.”
The system is being tested on public roads by as many as 400,000 Tesla owners. But NHTSA said in the filings that the system can perform unsafe actions such as traveling straight through an intersection from a turn-only lane, passing through a yellow stoplight without due caution or failing to respond to changes in the speed limit.
NHTSA has also opened investigations into Tesla for the past three years braking suddenly for no reason, sleep problems and other problems.
Buttigieg declined to comment specifically on the ongoing investigation. “Both outside bodies, states and other regulatory bodies on the marketing side, and we on the vehicle safety side, are always paying attention,” she said.
No vehicle on sale today can drive itself, he stressed, saying drivers must exercise caution in all cases.
The Department of Justice he also asked Tesla for documents on fully autonomous driving and autopilot.
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