If all the PR and the CEO keep saying “autopilot”, users will use it as auto pilot. If it isn’t autopilot, it should have a different name. The word "autopilot

If all the PR and the CEO keep saying “autopilot”, users will use it as auto pilot. If it isn’t autopilot, it should have a different name. The word "autopilot" originated in aviation, where it is a system used to control the trajectory of an aircraft without constant 'hands-on' control by a human operator being required. Autopilots do not replace human operators, but instead they assist them in controlling the aircraft.[1] Most aviation professionals understand those limitations. You're complaining that the average Tesla owner ascribes a different meaning to that word? Sadly, in aviation, over-reliance on autopilot has also led to very tragic results, the most prominent recent example being the crash of AF447, which killed 228 people.[2] Musk is doing nothing worse than Airbus, which has pushed automation to the extent that many of their pilots no longer understand the basic principles involved in aviation. They aren't pilots, they're operators of a very complex machine which has a UX that is usable in benign conditions, but that is abominably bad under difficult conditions. When faced with "temporary inconsistencies" from various sensors, the AF447 autopilot gave up and returned control to the pilots. But the pilots' inexperience in actually "flying" the aircraft, together with the awful Airbus UX, caused one pilot to say "We've lost all control of the aeroplane we don’t understand anything we’ve tried everything". In reality AF447 was a perfectly flyable aircraft. "pitch and power" was all it needed: Holding the aircraft level with pitch at IIRC 6 degrees above the horizon and applying 85% power was all that was necessary. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autopilot https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autopilot [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_France_Flight_447 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_France_Flight_447