Calls for the elimination of Tesla FSD from the former U.S. Presidential candidate

Wednesday, August 10, 2022 | Chimniii Desk

Another critic of Tesla's Full Self-Driving package is independent political activist and four-time presidential candidate Ralph Nader.

On Wednesday, Nader issued a statement urging federal authorities to "act promptly to avoid the mounting deaths and injuries from Tesla manslaughtering crashes with this technology."

The statement referred to Tesla's extensive use of so-called Full Self-Driving (FSD) technology as one of the company's most reckless and dangerous moves in recent memory. Tesla should not have equipped its cars with this technology. Today, more than 100,000 Tesla customers are utilising equipment that, according to research, breaks down every eight minutes.

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Several organisations have already criticised Tesla's Full Self-Driving package, including the California Department of Motor Vehicles. On July 28, the State's DMV declared that Tesla's Full Self-Driving and Autopilot suites had been misrepresented. The DMV stated in the filings that the 'Autopilot' and 'Full Self-Driving Capability' labels and descriptions "represent that vehicles equipped with the ADAS features will operate as an autonomous vehicle, but vehicles equipped with those ADAS features could not at the time of those advertisements, and cannot now, operate as autonomous vehicles. Instead of merely identifying product or brand names." The DMV has given Tesla fifteen days to react.

According to a statement by Nader, who supports the FSD suite's elimination:

The FSD system in every Tesla must be disabled, according to the NHTSA, who must exercise their jurisdiction to issue safety recalls.

Because of the irresponsible nature of use by drivers who do not follow Tesla's stated recommendations for use or a fundamental misunderstanding of the vehicle's capabilities, incidents involving Teslas typically give rise to the impression from some media that Autopilot or FSD were involved. Drivers, according to the business, must have their hands on the wheel and their eyes on the road at all times, and they must be alert in case a takeover is required.

Tesla answers the question, "Do I still need to pay attention while using Autopilot?," in the Frequently Asked Questions part of the Autopilot and Full Self-Driving portion of its website.

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“Yes. A completely focused driver is required to operate Autopilot, which is a hands-on driver assistance technology. It neither makes a Tesla a self-driving vehicle nor does it render a vehicle autonomous.

You must consent to "retain control and responsibility for your automobile at all times" and to "keep your hands on the steering wheel at all times" before enabling Autopilot. Once activated, Autopilot will also issue an increasing number of visual and aural alerts, prompting you to take your hands off the wheel if there is not enough torque. You will lose access to utilising Autopilot on that journey if you disregard these warnings repeatedly.

Any Autopilot feature can be overridden at any time by steering, using the brakes, or deactivating it with the cruise control stalk.

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Tesla has never claimed that its cars are totally driverless, which would let the driver watch TV or play video games while the car is in motion. This achievement has not yet been achieved by a carmaker, but numerous startups are near. A section of the San Francisco Bay Area's first driverless ridesharing permit has been granted to Cruise, a self-driving vehicle from General Motors.

Nader concluded his remarks by saying:

"Together, we need to send an urgent message to the regulators who are casualty-minded that Americans cannot be used as test subjects for a prominent, powerful company and its famous CEO. Nobody is exempt from manslaughter laws.

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