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I am glad people are starting to see the irresponsibility in some of Teslas Marketing. It was clear from day one that Teslas autopilot is a glorified lane assis

I am glad people are starting to see the irresponsibility in some of Teslas Marketing. It was clear from day one that Teslas autopilot is a glorified lane assist and therefore should not be sold as some sort of autonomous ready vehicle. When I first complained about how autopilot was being marketed here on HN, I was down voted and told I don't know what autopilot means.

masklinn 8y ago
> When I first complained about how autopilot was being marketed here on HN, I was down voted and told I don't know what autopilot means. Had the exact same experience "any commercial airline pilot knows autopilot doesn't do everything for you !!!one" (which isn't even true, Cat-IIIc ILS autopilots are basically the equivalent of the car being able to do everything outside of leaving your garage and fully automated flight from takeoff to landing included was a thing in 1947: https://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1947/1947%20-%201745.html https://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1947/1947%20-%2...). One could consider it a difference in what people are talking about: Tesla's tech roughly matches plane autopilot capabilities but not experience, because plane autopilot capabilities are nowhere near sufficient for unassisted autonomous driving (autopilots are assisted by automated ground-control systems amongst others).
- VBprogrammer 8y ago
  > which isn't even true, Cat-IIIc ILS autopilots are basically the equivalent of the car being able to do everything outside of leaving your garage and fully automated flight from takeoff to landing included was a thing in 1947 Only a fraction of the worlds runways have Cat-IIIc capability. You could argue that a reasonable equivalent in the car world is that it can auto-drive between any two places, so long as those places are on major motorways / interstates. Aircraft autopilots also have no way of avoiding traffic, ATC can't control them directly, and they don't have any automatic ability to do that. On balance I'd say the abilities of Tesla's autopilot are fairly compared to an aircraft autopilot. Unfortunately I think you are correct in that Tesla have marketed the system well beyond those abilities.
- sschueller 8y ago
  Additionally most people are not pilots and do not know much about autopilot. From movies and other media the even just the term autopilot gives a sense of complete automation.
Radim 8y ago
Don't despair! Each new generation starts hopeful, and goes through its own hype-bust cycles. It is human to dream, and businesses have evolved to sell hope accordingly. An eye for simplicity and a good set of BS detectors are not easy skills to learn. There's a whole spectrum between being a guinea-pig for the latest fad, and living like an Amish. Having worked in the ML industry for a decade, the idea of buying anything "AI-driven' where a simple mechanical / manual option exists leaves me shuddering. Never mind autopilots and other "mission critical" systems: The first thing I did after buying our home was to rip out all the "smart home" features, and replace them by manual thermometers and switches. Year after year, I feel sorry hearing our neighbours moan about their "smart homes".

masklinn 8y ago

> When I first complained about how autopilot was being marketed here on HN, I was down voted and told I don't know what autopilot means. Had the exact same experience "any commercial airline pilot knows autopilot doesn't do everything for you !!!one" (which isn't even true, Cat-IIIc ILS autopilots are basically the equivalent of the car being able to do everything outside of leaving your garage and fully automated flight from takeoff to landing included was a thing in 1947: https://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1947/1947%20-%201745.html https://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1947/1947%20-%2...). One could consider it a difference in what people are talking about: Tesla's tech roughly matches plane autopilot capabilities but not experience, because plane autopilot capabilities are nowhere near sufficient for unassisted autonomous driving (autopilots are assisted by automated ground-control systems amongst others).

VBprogrammer 8y ago
> which isn't even true, Cat-IIIc ILS autopilots are basically the equivalent of the car being able to do everything outside of leaving your garage and fully automated flight from takeoff to landing included was a thing in 1947 Only a fraction of the worlds runways have Cat-IIIc capability. You could argue that a reasonable equivalent in the car world is that it can auto-drive between any two places, so long as those places are on major motorways / interstates. Aircraft autopilots also have no way of avoiding traffic, ATC can't control them directly, and they don't have any automatic ability to do that. On balance I'd say the abilities of Tesla's autopilot are fairly compared to an aircraft autopilot. Unfortunately I think you are correct in that Tesla have marketed the system well beyond those abilities.
sschueller 8y ago
Additionally most people are not pilots and do not know much about autopilot. From movies and other media the even just the term autopilot gives a sense of complete automation.

Radim 8y ago

Don't despair! Each new generation starts hopeful, and goes through its own hype-bust cycles. It is human to dream, and businesses have evolved to sell hope accordingly. An eye for simplicity and a good set of BS detectors are not easy skills to learn. There's a whole spectrum between being a guinea-pig for the latest fad, and living like an Amish. Having worked in the ML industry for a decade, the idea of buying anything "AI-driven' where a simple mechanical / manual option exists leaves me shuddering. Never mind autopilots and other "mission critical" systems: The first thing I did after buying our home was to rip out all the "smart home" features, and replace them by manual thermometers and switches. Year after year, I feel sorry hearing our neighbours moan about their "smart homes".