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What comes next for Tesla Autopilot and autonomous driving systems?
The world seems to have oddly realized for the very first time that driving assist systems are still in its infancy stages and haven’t seen the decades of iterations that other technology platforms have had. As to why people have entrusted so much of their safety and lives to the word “autopilot”, going as far as shamelessly playing mahjongg on the internet while behind the wheel, checking their e-mail, and brazenly hopping away from the driver’s seat while their two-ton Autopilot-enabled Tesla drives on its own, goes beyond me.
And it’s because of this lack of human judgment that the statistically inevitable fatal accident behind the wheel of a Tesla may have arrived before its time.
Certainly Elon Musk and Tesla Motors have taken great pains to inform drivers they must remain in control of the car at all times when Autopilot is active. A message on the vehicle’s instrument cluster and warning chime reminds us of this. So why is there such a disconnect between what the system is capable of and what people’s expectations are?
“Everyone in the autonomous vehicle industry understands consumer over-trust is a significant problem,” says John Maddox, CEO of the American Center for Mobility. It is a proposed proving ground for connected and automated vehicles that is under development on 335 acres at Willow Run in Michigan. “No one has an answer to that problem yet, to be perfectly blunt. It’s human nature that when we’re bored with a given task we find something else to occupy our minds. There are ways the industry can look at to maintain driver interest,” Maddox says via USA Today.
Michigan wants to be at the forefront of development for autonomous driving systems and connected cars. “These technologies will be significantly better when the vehicles can ‘talk’ to each other and to signals in traffic lights and elsewhere,” says Kirk Steudle, director of the Michigan Department of Transportation. MDOT is working with General Motors, Ford, and the University of Michigan to deploy vehicle-to-infrastructure communication technology on more than 120 miles of metro Detroit roadway.
-->But the infrastructure to support connected car technology is still decades away. Those 120 miles of roads in Detroit are a minuscule proportion the millions of miles of roads in the US.
In the meantime, drivers need to be better educated about what systems like Tesla’s Autopilot can and cannot do.
In the wake of Joshua Brown’s fatality, the NHTSA is expected to issue its first set of regulations for semi-autonomous cars in the fall of this year. The Senate Commerce Committee has decided the highest and best use of taxpayer dollars is to launch its own investigation. Its chairman, John Thune, Republican of South Dakota, has sent a request to Tesla to come and tell the committee what it is doing to prevent more fatal accidents. Apparently, Senator Thune thinks the members of his committee must weigh in on this issue while the headlines are there to be had, rather than waiting for NHTSA and NTSB to finish their investigations.
“An informed consumer is the best consumer,” MDOT’s Steudle said. “They really need to understand the limitations of what the technology can do currently. There’s a lot of information out there about where it can take us. But it’s not there yet.”
Strategies to reduce driver expectations might be a wise course of action for Tesla to follow at this juncture.
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News
Tesla FSD Supervised ride-alongs in Europe begin in Italy, France, and Germany
The program allows the public to hop in as a non-driving observer to witness FSD navigate urban streets firsthand.
Tesla has kicked off passenger ride-alongs for Full Self-Driving (Supervised) in Italy, France and Germany. The program allows the public to hop in as a non-driving observer to witness FSD navigate urban streets firsthand.
The program, detailed on Tesla’s event pages, arrives ahead of a potential early 2026 Dutch regulatory approval that could unlock a potential EU-wide rollout for FSD.
Hands-Off Demos
Tesla’s ride-along invites participants to “ride along in the passenger seat to experience how it handles real-world traffic & the most stressful parts of daily driving, making the roads safer for all,” as per the company’s announcement on X through its official Tesla Europe & Middle East account.
Sign-ups via localized pages offer free slots through December, with Tesla teams piloting vehicles through city streets, roundabouts and highways.
“Be one of the first to experience Full Self-Driving (Supervised) from the passenger seat. Our team will take you along as a passenger and show you how Full Self-Driving (Supervised) works under real-world road conditions,” Tesla wrote. “Discover how it reacts to live traffic and masters the most stressful parts of driving to make the roads safer for you and others. Come join us to learn how we are moving closer to a fully autonomous future.”
-->Building trust towards an FSD Unsupervised rollout
Tesla’s FSD (Supervised) ride-alongs could be an effective tool to build trust and get regular car buyers and commuters used to the idea of vehicles driving themselves. By seating riders shotgun, Tesla could provide participants with a front row seat to the bleeding edge of consumer-grade driverless systems.
FSD (Supervised) has already been rolled out to several countries, such as the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and partially in China. So far, FSD (Supervised) has been received positively by drivers, as it really makes driving tasks and long trips significantly easier and more pleasant.
FSD is a key safety feature as well, which became all too evident when a Tesla driving on FSD was hit by what seemed to be a meteorite in Australia. The vehicle moved safely despite the impact, though the same would likely not be true had the car been driven manually.
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Swedish union rep pissed that Tesla is working around a postal blockade they started
Tesla Sweden is now using dozens of private residences as a way to obtain license plates for its vehicles.
Two years into their postal blockade, Swedish unions are outraged that Tesla is still able to provide its customers’ vehicles with valid plates through various clever workarounds.
Seko chairman Gabriella Lavecchia called it “embarrassing” that the world’s largest EV maker, owned by CEO Elon Musk, refuses to simply roll over and accept the unions’ demands.
Unions shocked Tesla won’t just roll over and surrender
The postal unions’ blockade began in November 2023 when Seko and IF Metall-linked unions stopped all mail to Tesla sites to force a collective agreement. License plates for Tesla vehicles instantly became the perfect pressure point, as noted in a Dagens Arbete report.
Tesla responded by implementing initiatives to work around the blockades. A recent investigation from Arbetet revealed that Tesla Sweden is now using dozens of private residences, including one employee’s parents’ house in Trångsund and a customer-relations staffer’s home in Vårby, as a way to obtain license plates for its vehicles.
Seko chairman Gabriella Lavecchia is not pleased that Tesla Sweden is working around the unions’ efforts yet again. “It is embarrassing that one of the world’s largest car companies, owned by one of the world’s richest people, has sunk this low,” she told the outlet. “Unfortunately, it is completely frivolous that such a large company conducts business in this way.”
-->Two years on and plates are still being received
The Swedish Transport Agency has confirmed Tesla is still using several different workarounds to overcome the unions’ blockades.
As noted by DA, Tesla Sweden previously used different addresses to receive its license plates. At one point, the electric vehicle maker used addresses for car care shops. Tesla Sweden reportedly used this strategy in Östermalm in Stockholm, as well as in Norrköping and Gothenburg.
Another strategy that Tesla Sweden reportedly implemented involved replacement plates being ordered by private individuals when vehicles change hands from Tesla to car buyers. There have also been cases where the police have reportedly issued temporary plates to Tesla vehicles.
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Czech Deputy excited for Tesla FSD, hints at Transport Committee review
The ANO party lawmaker shared his thoughts about FSD in a post on social media platform X.
Martin Kolovratník, a Czech Republic Chamber of Deputies member, has expressed his excitement for Tesla’s Full Self-Driving (FSD) after an apparent constituent called for a quick approval for the advanced safety system.
The ANO party lawmaker, who drives both diesel and EV, shared his thoughts about the matter in a post on social media platform X.
The official’s initial statements
Kolovratník kicked off the exchange with a post outlining his coalition’s efforts to scrap highway toll exemptions for electric vehicles and plug-ins starting in 2027.
“Times have changed. Electric vehicles are no longer a fringe technology, but a full-fledged part of operations. And if someone uses the highway network, they should follow the same rules as everyone else. That’s the basis of fairness,” he wrote.
He emphasized equity over ideology, noting his personal mix of diesel and electric driving. “For this reason, there is no reason to continue favoring one technology at the expense of another… It’s not about ideology, it’s about equal conditions. That’s why we clearly agreed within the new coalition: the exemption for electric vehicles and plug-ins will end in 2027. The decision is predictable, understandable, and economically sound.”
-->Tesla FSD enthusiasm
The conversation pivoted to Tesla’s FSD when X user @robotinreallife, who seems to be one of the official’s constituents, replied that other matters are more important than ending highway exemptions for EVs.
“I’m happy to pay for the highway, but I have a question about a much more fundamental matter: The Netherlands will approve the operation of Tesla FSD in February 26, a technology that has been proven to reduce accidents. The Czech Republic has the option to immediately recognize this certification. Do you plan to support this step so that we don’t unnecessarily delay?” the X user asked.
Kolovratník responded promptly, sharing his own excitement for the upcoming rollout of FSD. “I know about it. I like it and it seems interesting to me. Once we set up the committees and subcommittees, we’ll open it right away in that transport one. Thanks for the tip, I’ll deliver the report,” the official noted in his reply on X.
Kolovratník’s nod to FSD hints at the system’s potentially smooth rollout to Czechia in the coming year. With the Netherlands possibly greenlighting FSD (Supervised) in early 2026, Kolovratník’s commitment could accelerate cross-border certification, boosting FSD’s foray into Europe by a notable margin.
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Tesla FSD Supervised ride-alongs in Europe begin in Italy, France, and Germany
Swedish union rep pissed that Tesla is working around a postal blockade they started
