Program Your New Tesla to Break the Law
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mjr
Comfy armchair to one person & a plank to the next
- Location
- mostly Norfolk, sometimes Somerset
"putting a Tesla in “assertive” mode will effectively direct the car to tailgate other motorists, perform unsafe passing maneuvers, and roll through certain stops (“average” mode isn’t much safer). All those behaviors are illegal in most U.S. states"
Well, I predicted that was always going to happen: it's just too likely that some self-driving car maker was going to bet that the extra profit from increased sales for their car being the "best" at bullying through traffic will outweigh any fines for systematic lawbreaking.
The really scary time will be when the likes of Joe's Performance Motor Tuners figures out how to reprogram them. Sure, the manufacturers will try to keep this knowledge and access to their dealers, just like they did with Engine Control Units and alarm systems, but the independents will accuse them of unfair competition and so on and I think they'll win. Then we'll have one-off remappings or possibly even total reprogrammings and then some members of the public will get access the same way and the fun will really begin...
How can this be avoided? I'm not sure it can. There will need to be random vehicle tests and compulsory reflashing back to an approved legal driving program for any car found to be capable of breaking driving laws. I don't think we should ban all self-driving reprogramming because that will mean the basics will never improve and I suspect some bright spark may do better than Tesla one day.
Well, I predicted that was always going to happen: it's just too likely that some self-driving car maker was going to bet that the extra profit from increased sales for their car being the "best" at bullying through traffic will outweigh any fines for systematic lawbreaking.
The really scary time will be when the likes of Joe's Performance Motor Tuners figures out how to reprogram them. Sure, the manufacturers will try to keep this knowledge and access to their dealers, just like they did with Engine Control Units and alarm systems, but the independents will accuse them of unfair competition and so on and I think they'll win. Then we'll have one-off remappings or possibly even total reprogrammings and then some members of the public will get access the same way and the fun will really begin...
How can this be avoided? I'm not sure it can. There will need to be random vehicle tests and compulsory reflashing back to an approved legal driving program for any car found to be capable of breaking driving laws. I don't think we should ban all self-driving reprogramming because that will mean the basics will never improve and I suspect some bright spark may do better than Tesla one day.
fossyant
Ride It Like You Stole It!
- Location
- South Manchester
It probably drives better than the humans behind the wheel in any mode.
mjr
Comfy armchair to one person & a plank to the next
- Location
- mostly Norfolk, sometimes Somerset
Isn't that the old "all drivers break the law" myth in other words? Surely some drivers in the USA don't tailgate and roll stops like that Tesla provably does?
Cycleops
Legendary Member
- Location
- Accra, Ghana
I'm sure Clarkson has already got ' assertive mode' engaged.
I've only got the standard Autopilot in mine (Enhanced Autopilot and "Full Self Drive are the upgrade options) and even that scares me a little. Overall the car is a technological masterclass but some of the risks they seem to be taking with their software features is mindboggling. As someone who spends a decent percentage of their time creating or reviewing product Risk Assessments I genuinely don't understand how some of Tesla's decisions get out of the meeting room door, let alone on to the roads 
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mjr
Comfy armchair to one person & a plank to the next
- Location
- mostly Norfolk, sometimes Somerset
That's only useful after someone's hurt or something's damaged. There need to be random spot checks to catch dangerous vehicles before that.
Nobody is going to rewrite the autopilot software. You're talking about 10's of thousands of lines of code, probably 100's of thousands. Tesla will have the functional code nailed down so hard with IP protection that nobody would be able to sell it even if they were able to modify it. Besides, Tesla's all have inbuilt connectivity and run over the air updates, Tesla know exactly where every car is and what software its running. They probably even know if the heated seats are on...
I'm more concerned about what risks the corporates are willing to take to get ahead in autonomous driving than rogue coders.
I'm more concerned about what risks the corporates are willing to take to get ahead in autonomous driving than rogue coders.
I’ve been told Tesla don’t even want their cars going anywhere else but them to get serviced or repaired is that right ?
Drago
Legendary Member
- Location
- Suburban Poshshire
BMWs have come with the feature since the 80s. perhaps its time governments mandated certain autonomous specs, like how far from the car in front it hangs, what sort of gap is acceptable to accelerate into and how fast, the rate of braking under normal non emergency comditions, etc.
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I've heard similar, yeah. Also they can ban vehicles from their charging network, and have a policy of banning any vehicles that have been repaired after being written off. This has a major effect on their value so is another method of trying to control the used market. All a bit naughty really.
Not surprising to be honest. A bit of Apple Corp about them .
