It is difficult to be Tesla. In a world where cars are becoming electric, just as the company originally intended when its mission began 18 years ago, Tesla is the leader at the moment. All the automakers in the world are struggling to reach out to Elon Musk’s automaker. However, recent developments have inspired me to look at a different type of competition that Tesla is facing, something that seems somewhat unfair in the grand scheme of things. Unfortunately, it is not from another automaker, it is from federal investigators and Tesla skeptics who continue to increase the company’s accidents, all because there is a possibility that a car involved in an accident is operating on autopilot.
Earlier this week, a Model Y was involved in an accident in Michigan. What turned out to be a case of reckless driving was initially attributed to the possibility of autopilot by traditional media sources. Unfortunately for them, their credibility with Tesla vehicles continues to be undermined as they sacrifice long-term reliability in the field of electric vehicles for a short-term view. A Tesla was actually in an accident in Detroit, and yes, the NHTSA was investigating. There is no reason to be broader than that.
Unfortunately, Tesla’s launch of autopilot and autonomous pilot has put the company at risk because of this type of story. Whenever a Tesla crashes, the first thing that gets stuck in people’s minds is the possibility that the car is using semi-autonomous driving features. Why? Human beings are still responsible for operating the car, even when the vehicle is using the latest technology. It is by no means the fault of the car when the driver is still responsible for the final operation of the vehicle. It’s like blaming a fork for obesity, in my eyes.
While it is unfortunate that there have been deaths due to autopilot, there are cases where serious driver negligence is actually the cause of an accident. For example, in a case where speed and reckless driving are really the factor, immediate clarification by investigative police officers is needed. Perhaps Tesla could provide some clarification to the authorities in some kind of system where officers could provide the VIN for a vehicle involved, and Tesla could immediately determine whether the car was operating using its driver assistance features. Obviously, there may be a better way. But in the short term, especially in the early days of the FSD Beta, the credibility of the vehicle’s systems is extremely important for future releases.
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Statistically, Tesla vehicles are much safer than human drivers to begin with. Recent statistics from Tesla’s fourth quarter 2020 safety report show that an autopilot accident occurred every 3.45 million miles. The national average is 484,000 miles. Isn’t that enough to prove that autopilot is a better option than human steering? By the way, it only gets more precise and precise with every kilometer traveled thanks to its Neural Networks that obtain new data.
The exposure that Tesla receives after one of these tragic accidents is probably the most frustrating. Immediately, people drew hasty conclusions and assumed that the car was responsible for the problems. It’s interesting, though, because I can’t remember a single instance of media jumping over a problem with SuperCruise or any of the many other driver assistance systems that are on the market today. I’m sure there was coverage, I just can’t remember any case where it was a national headline like Tesla seems to be included regularly.
In all honesty, it is extremely frustrating to know that there is so much focus on Tesla’s shortcomings instead of its big successes. I am an investor in TSLA, but sometimes I am also extremely critical of the company, and I believe it is because of my holdings. There are times when I would do things differently. I was sincere about my distaste for not telling any reserve holder of the Model Y LR RWD that their cars would not be manufactured. I am upset because there is relatively little communication with the Model S Plaid reservation holders regarding their steering wheels. I am not a fan who was told that the production of the Semi / Roadster is imminent on several occasions, but we are still sitting here with none of these vehicles. I understand the bottlenecks, but I think that these things just frustrated me personally.
I am happy that Tesla spends $ 0 on advertising. The media and the media do not deserve Teslas money. It is best used for the growth of the company and for things like building state-of-the-art factories. Ford and GM alone will spend more than $ 5 billion this year on advertising in the United States. Prejudice is clear and money talks.
– Sawyer Merritt 📈🚀 (@SawyerMerritt) March 17, 2021
However, I will also admit when things are just unfair, and Tesla is a victim of this on so many occasions. I don’t know if this has to do with oil money filling the pockets of MSM or if it is just an attempt to derail a company that really revolutionized the automotive industry. I will not speculate. Of course, there is a reason for investigations that can be beneficial. It may just be an attempt to learn from Tesla’s mistakes and pass them on to future instances. Unfortunately, there will be more accidents with autonomous driving software and it will go far beyond Tesla. However, Tesla is the only company with a robust standalone program, so the microscope almost needs to be on them sometimes, but that’s where the whole situation gets really complicated.
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