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It's also directly prevented a number of deaths. The same is true of the consumption of water. However, I can count the number of deaths caused by Tesla on one

It's also directly prevented a number of deaths. The same is true of the consumption of water. However, I can count the number of deaths caused by Tesla on one hand, but I cannot count the number of deaths caused by the consumption of water on one hand [1][2]. [1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_autonomous_car_fatalities https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_autonomous_car_fatalit... [2]: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/strange-but-true-drinking-too-much-water-can-kill/ https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/strange-but-true-... If you really care about road safety? Encourage the use of Uber among the intoxicated. It saves more than a handful of lives in this world in which more than a hundred thousand people die each day.

perl4ever 8y ago
People frequently argue that "X hasn't caused very many deaths compared to Y" and thus the dangers of X are insignificant, while ignoring that people are reacting in a frightened way to X because it might scale such that it soon becomes significant.
- JoshCole 8y ago
  What I was hoping to show was that there are things where the property of causing deaths doesn't mean that the thing itself was a bad idea. Water is an example of that. Going without water is fatal. Getting water can be fatal. It would be very easy to write thousands of news articles about water killing people. But its still good that people can drink water. The same is true of these driver-assistance technologies. Without them, people are already crashing and dying all the time. They do this at a greater rate than the rate at which people crash and die in vehicles that have these driver-assistance technologies. So on the whole, its actually better to have people in cars with these driver-assisting technologies, not worse.
kingkongjaffa 8y ago
Note I'm specifically talking about their dishonest marketing not their technology. Their technology when used correctly is fine, but it't not even best in class, nevermind true auto pilot, but calling it auto pilot has evidently inspired false confidence in it's capabilities. The marketing message is dangerous to people who can buy a Tesla but are not technically astute enough to understand the limits of their product, and it's not their fault - Tesla allows them to think that their technology is better and safer than others on the market.
- JoshCole 8y ago
  Noted, I see the distinction you're pointing out. The marketing is different from the technology itself.

perl4ever 8y ago

People frequently argue that "X hasn't caused very many deaths compared to Y" and thus the dangers of X are insignificant, while ignoring that people are reacting in a frightened way to X because it might scale such that it soon becomes significant.

JoshCole 8y ago
What I was hoping to show was that there are things where the property of causing deaths doesn't mean that the thing itself was a bad idea. Water is an example of that. Going without water is fatal. Getting water can be fatal. It would be very easy to write thousands of news articles about water killing people. But its still good that people can drink water. The same is true of these driver-assistance technologies. Without them, people are already crashing and dying all the time. They do this at a greater rate than the rate at which people crash and die in vehicles that have these driver-assistance technologies. So on the whole, its actually better to have people in cars with these driver-assisting technologies, not worse.

kingkongjaffa 8y ago

Note I'm specifically talking about their dishonest marketing not their technology. Their technology when used correctly is fine, but it't not even best in class, nevermind true auto pilot, but calling it auto pilot has evidently inspired false confidence in it's capabilities. The marketing message is dangerous to people who can buy a Tesla but are not technically astute enough to understand the limits of their product, and it's not their fault - Tesla allows them to think that their technology is better and safer than others on the market.

JoshCole 8y ago
Noted, I see the distinction you're pointing out. The marketing is different from the technology itself.