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Consumer Reports Urges Tesla (TSLA) to Disable Autopilot

July 14, 2016 7:34 AM EDT

Consumer Reports is calling on Tesla (Nasdaq: TSLA) to disable its autopilot feature until the system can be made safer following the recent fatal accident and other accidents related to the feature.

"By marketing their feature as ‘Autopilot,’ Tesla gives consumers a false sense of security," says Laura MacCleery, vice president of consumer policy and mobilization for Consumer Reports. "In the long run, advanced active safety technologies in vehicles could make our roads safer. But today, we're deeply concerned that consumers are being sold a pile of promises about unproven technology. 'Autopilot' can't actually drive the car, yet it allows consumers to have their hands off the steering wheel for minutes at a time. Tesla should disable automatic steering in its cars until it updates the program to verify that the driver's hands are on the wheel." LINK

UPDATE:

The company issued the following statement in response to the ConsumerReports article:

"Tesla is constantly introducing enhancements, proven over millions of miles of internal testing, to ensure that drivers supported by Autopilot remain safer than those operating without assistance. We will continue to develop, validate, and release those enhancements as the technology grows. While we appreciate well-meaning advice from any individual or group, we make our decisions on the basis of real-world data, not speculation by media."



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