Editorial: Tesla’s Smart Summon is a potential self-driving nightmare, and regulators are ignoring the risk
LA TimesHere we go again. Last month the car company released Smart Summon, a software update that allows Tesla owners who have purchased a “full self-driving” package to use a smartphone app to command their vehicle to turn itself on, pull out of a parking space and drive to the smartphone holder’s location. Tesla beamed Smart Summon to customers with instructions to use only in private parking lots and driveways, and only if the app user can see the car at all times “because it may not detect all obstacles.” Oh and yes, “be especially careful around quick moving people, bicycles and cars.” You think? Of course, videos soon appeared showing driverless Teslas cruising through busy shopping center parking lots, driving on public roads and traveling out of sight of their operator, Times reporter Russ Mitchell found. The federal government’s transportation safety regulator, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, says it is keeping an eye on the Smart Summon system and “will not hesitate to act” if it finds evidence of a safety-related defect.
History of this topic
Tesla faces US auto-safety scrutiny over new Smart Summon feature; active probe on crash concerns
Live Mint
Tesla shouldn’t call driving system Autopilot because humans are still in control, Buttigieg says
Associated PressTesla’s ‘Full Self-Driving’ under review in U.S.
The Hindu
Tesla touts self-driving to consumers. To the DMV, it tells a different tale
LA Times
Tesla ‘full self-driving’ vehicles can’t drive themselves
Associated Press
Tesla 'full self-driving' vehicles can't drive themselves
The IndependentTesla's full self-driving option falls short of its claim, report says
The Hindu
Tesla’s Smart Summon: ‘Terrifying but fantastic’
CNN
With Smart Summon, Teslas drive themselves in parking lots. California says they're not 'driverless'
LA Times
Tesla gears up for fully self-driving cars amid skepticism
Daily MailDiscover Related
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