Tesla CEO Elon Musk has said that cars operating in Tesla’s Autopilot mode are safer than those piloted solely by human drivers, citing crash rates when the modes of driving are compared. He has pushed the carmaker to develop and deploy features programmed to maneuver the roads, arguing that the technology will usher in a safer, virtually accident-free future. While it’s impossible to say how many crashes may have been averted, the data shows clear flaws in the technology being tested in real time on America’s highways.
I think the bigger issue is the lack of transparency. Tesla only reported 3 fatalities involving autopilot while the real number is 17. Not a massive difference when dealing with low numbers like this, but still a big issue if Tesla is lying about safety data.