As an engineer, I try to imagine what the risk analysis for the Tesla cars look like for the Autopilot functionality. Multiple warnings would seem to me to be

As an engineer, I try to imagine what the risk analysis for the Tesla cars look like for the Autopilot functionality. Multiple warnings would seem to me to be insufficient to reduce the hazard presented by the Autopilot functionality; indeed, there are any number of videos of Tesla drivers using the vehicle contra to the warnings. As one specific example, consider that the Tesla Autopilot cautions the driver to maintain hands on the wheel[0], yet does not enforce this requirement[1] despite having the capability to do so[2]. There's also a problem with Musk viz. marketing: he's the very public face of the company, and he is frequently overly optimistic in describing the car's capabilities by blurring the line between current and future capabilities, e.g., implying that holding the wheel isn't critical with a wink-wink, nudge-nudge[3]. Tesla's PLM certainly has some sort of mechanism to continuously examine the risk analysis for the car, yet the Autopilot functionality doesn't seem to have been significantly updated to incorporate the changing risk profile. To add on all of this, why does Autopilot allow one to speed? Why can one enable Autopilot on a road such as the exemplar if it is contrary to the instructions and the car is capable of knowing the difference? What does the risk analysis say on the topic of the feature name "Autopilot" being misunderstood by the public? &c. &c. I do wonder about the engineering processes at Tesla. I admittedly don't work in automotive, but I do work in a regulated industry, and Tesla's apparent engineering process makes me very uneasy. Risk analyses that I have done took into account that the user may not have read the instructions for use, and I struggle to understand how Tesla could not do the same. [0] "Drivers must keep their hands on the steering wheel." https://www.tesla.com/presskit/autopilot https://www.tesla.com/presskit/autopilot [1] "We drove for 10 miles without the message appearing." http://www.teslarati.com/what-happens-ignore-tesla-autopilot-warnings/ http://www.teslarati.com/what-happens-ignore-tesla-autopilot... [2] It's not clear that they have a capacitance sensor as on properly-equipped Mercedes, but Teslas allegedly can detect minute torques applied to the steering wheel as happens when the wheel is held. I recall reading this about the Teslas, but can't find a citation at the moment. [3] “It works almost to the point where you can take your hands off,” Musk laughs, “but we won’t say that. Almost.” http://www.wired.com/2015/10/tesla-self-driving-over-air-update-live/ http://www.wired.com/2015/10/tesla-self-driving-over-air-upd... also, "But by April, he told a conference that Autopilot was "almost twice as good as a person," even in its first version." and from the same, "Musk himself has retweeted news reports showing drivers using Autopilot with no hands on the wheel." http://www.autonews.com/article/20160705/OEM06/160709956/tesla-mixes-warnings-and-bravado-about-hands-free-driving http://www.autonews.com/article/20160705/OEM06/160709956/tes...