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And who is driving?
Testers from the US consumer magazine Consumer Reports succeeded in setting a Tesla Model Y in motion without a driver (symbol image)
Photo: VCG / Getty Images
The influential US consumer magazine Consumer Reports has exposed dangerous safety deficits in the driver assistance program "Autopilot" from the automaker Tesla.
On a test track, engineers on the Model Y managed to use the program despite the empty driver's seat, Consumer Reports announced.
The system did not issue any warnings or notices.
Such a scenario would represent an "extreme danger" on public roads, according to the paper.
The engineers' approach was surprisingly simple:
Consumer Reports expert Jake Fisher took a seat in the driver's seat, but the seat belt was already closed.
So Fisher was in fact not buckled up, which the vehicle apparently did not notice when it drove off.
While driving, he activated the "autopilot" system.
With the seat belt trick, Fisher circumvented a safety function in the car that would have made it impossible to switch to the passenger seat later: According to consumer reports, the system switches off if the driver's seat belt is loosened while the car is moving.
Fisher now set the autopilot speed to zero.
After the car stopped, Fisher attached a small, weighted chain to the steering wheel to simulate the weight of the driver's hand.
Then he climbed into the passenger seat - without opening any of the doors, as this would deactivate the assistance system that was still switched on - and accelerated the car using a switch on the steering wheel that you can use to set the car's speed when the "autopilot" is activated.
Then the car drove over the test track - without noticing that no one was behind the wheel.
Consumer Reports investigation puts Tesla under increasing pressure after an accident that killed two men.
The driver's seat was most likely empty in the accident, according to police reports.
Tesla, however, denied that the autopilot was on.
In general, the company advises customers that the autopilot is only an assistance system and that people in the driver's seat have to keep their hands on the steering wheel at all times.
If this is not the case, the software should notice it and emit warning tones.
According to Consumer Reports, Tesla is falling behind other manufacturers
But in the test, according to Consumer Reports, the system did not ensure that the driver can take over the wheel at all times.
In addition, according to the report, it did not even recognize whether the driver's seat is occupied.
"Tesla is falling behind other automakers like General Motors and Ford when it comes to models with advanced driver assistance programs that use technology that ensures the driver can keep an eye on the road," said Fisher.
A statement from Tesla was initially not available.
The electric car manufacturer has long been under pressure to justify itself because of the term "autopilot".
Critics find that the name is an exaggeration that invites negligent use.
This discussion should continue to gain momentum: Tesla calls the next evolutionary stage of the program, which is currently in the test phase, "full self-driving" - completely self-driving, although according to current criteria it remains an assistance system.
The authorities are also apparently increasing the pressure on Tesla.
The traffic safety authority NHTSA and the accident investigation authority NTSB took over the investigation into the fatal accident in Texas on Monday.
The US Senators Richard Blumenthal and Edward Markey (both Democrats) also called on the NHTSA to "deepen" the investigation - and to include recommendations in their report on how such accidents could be avoided.
In the case of Tesla models, there seems to be a "tendency towards safety problems," the senators wrote to the NHTSA.
That is "incredibly worrying."
ene / dpa / AFP