That’s true, but I think the issue people have with “AutoPilot” is about marketing.

Tesla brands their cars’ solution as being a full replacement for human interaction and word from Musk, other Tesla employees, media personalities close to Tesla, and fanboys all make out like the car drives itself and the only reason you need a driver in place is to satisfy laws.

It’s bullshit. They know exactly what they’re doing when they do the above, when they call their system “AutoPilot”, when Musk makes claims his cars can travel from one side of the US to the other without human interaction (only to never actually do it, of course!), and sells car upgrades as Full Self Driving support.

If they branded it as Assisted Driving, Advanced Cruise Control, Smart Cruise, or something along those lines, like all the other carmakers do with their similar systems, I’d be less inclined to blame Tesla when there’s an unfortunate incident. I think most would agree with me, too.

But Tesla markets and encourages, both officially and unofficially, that their cars have the ability to drive themselves, look after themselves, and that you’re safe when using the system. It’s a lie and I’m absolutely astounded they’ve had little more than a series of slaps on the wrist for it in most markets.