“Full Self-Driving,” is a highly touted feature of Tesla cars. Drivers who receive the automatic software upgrade will see many changes to how the vehicle operates. A specific new feature is the ability to navigate through intersections and city streets.
Software upgrades are part of owning any type of technology. However, concerns exist surrounding the latest download provided by Tesla.
Troubling signs of technical failure
Experts who study the performance of autonomous vehicles have viewed many videos of the post-download operation. They witnessed vehicles struggling to stay between lane lines and veering left and then right. In addition, right-hand turns went off smoothly while left-handed turns seemed problematic.
A YouTube video of a Tesla car was described as both “impressive” in some ways and error-prone in others. While navigating around parked vehicles and getting through intersections without any issues, other aspects of the travel saw the car turning in the wrong lane and moving directly towards a parked car.
The seemingly harmless act of scraping a bush has convinced one expert that the vehicle struggles with detecting objects, a vital component of the vehicle’s enhanced automation.
To make matters worse for drivers, the software has disengaged in some vehicles while in operation, forcing the driver to take over and the car themselves. Those studying the autonomous vehicle’s performance claim that its performance resembled acts of drunk driving.
The sum total of all the issues reveals insufficient, at best, testing prior to putting the car on the market and drivers behind the wheel. The belief among many is that not only are the vehicles not ready, they are not even close to being prepared for mass use on busy roads.
