Watch this Tesla Model S owner sit in the backseat with autopilot at 51 MPH
By Paulo Acoba
Tesla’s autopilot doesn’t mean leaving the drivers seat altogether people.
Earlier last week, Elon Musk announced that their Telsa Model S Autopilot feature would receive a serious of software patches to prevent the misuse and abuse of the autopilot features. Earlier this week (Nov. 6, 2015) thanks to Tech Insider, we got the tip on a Dutch motorist who engaged Autopilot and filmed himself from the backseat of his Tesla Model S as speeds reached 51 MPH without him in the drivers seat. Check out that video below.
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The uploader of the video swears that it isn’t him filming (sure) and it’s in fact someone else whom he affectionately labels as a “Stupid Idiot.” As he films, cars whiz by him at normal traffic speeds and there’s a full-size semi lumbering along in front of him. In the background, we can hear the ding, ding ding of the seatbelt reminder as it notices no one has their seatbelt on in the front.
It’s videos like these that have prompted Musk to announce the Over the air patches to be sent out this coming week.
This fellow used autopilot without himself in the drivers seat but he was on his own private property and the Model S was creeping along at a runners pace. But this latest upload is the first time documented of someone on the freeway with the systems engaged.
According to Tesla, the Tesla Autopilot system is a sophisticated system of , “four different feedback modules: camera, radar, ultrasonics, and GPS. These mutually reinforcing systems offer real-time data feedback from the Tesla fleet, ensuring that the system is continually learning and improving upon itself.”
In a perfect world with no driving anomalies on the road and where everyone followed the rules, you can technically sit in the backseat of an auto-piloted car and zoom along. But we know that that’s not the case.
Next: Tesla Will Limit Autopilot With Constraints Thanks To Rise In Shenanigans
For now Tesla will most likely employ steering wheel or weight sensors on the seats to ensure that drivers are at least ready to take over at a moments notice.
H/T- Tech Insider