In 2018 crash, Tesla’s Autopilot just followed the lane lines

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Depositions in a civil case over a fatal 2018 crash -- set for trial this week -- provide insights into how Tesla programmed its Autopilot software to follow lines on the road

In Tesla’s marketing materials, the company’s Autopilot driver-assistance system is cast as a technological marvel that uses “advanced cameras, sensors and computing power” to steer, accelerate and brake automatically — even change lanes so “you don’t get stuck behind slow cars or trucks.”“If there are clearly marked lane lines, the system will follow the lane lines,” Phatak said under questioning in July 2023.

after getting confused by what the company’s lawyers described in court documents as a “faded and nearly obliterated” lane line.Phatak’s testimony marks the first time Tesla has publicly explained these design decisions, peeling back the curtain on a system shrouded in secrecy by the company and its controversial CEO, Elon Musk. Musk, Phatak and Tesla did not respond to requests for comment.

The documents shed light on one of federal regulators and safety officials’ biggest frustrations with Tesla: why Autopilot at times Autopilot is included in nearly every Tesla. It will steer on streets, follow a set course on freeways and maintain a set speed and distance without human input. It will even change lanes to pass cars and maneuver aggressively in traffic depending on the drivingselected. It does not stop at stop signs or traffic signals.

Last month, the Government Accountability Office called on the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the top auto safety regulator, to provide additional information on driver-assistance systems “to clarify the scope of intended use and the driver’s responsibility to monitor the system and the driving environment while such a system is engaged.”design choices, such as Tesla’s decision to monitor driver attention through sensors that gauge pressure on the steering wheel.

 

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