U.S. Senator calls out Tesla over safety issues involving 'misleading' Autopilot feature

A sitting U.S. Congressman is urging Tesla to rebrand its Autopilot feature due to safety concerns.

In a statement, U.S. Senator Edward Markey (D-Mass.) is requesting that the Elon Musk-founded electric vehicle manufacturer make significant changes to its Autopilot driver assistance system. Namely, well, its name.

“Tesla promotes confusion about the capabilities and limits of its driver assistance system with an inherently misleading name – 'Autopilot' – that encourages users to over-rely on the technology,” reads the statement. “This branding significantly undermines all of the user manuals and subsequent instructions that Tesla issues to its customers that explain how the system is not fully autonomous and how drivers must stay actively engaged with the road.” Read more...