0:00

Believe. It or not, Summer is

0:02

just around the corner. Luckily, Armor

0:04

All America's most trusted auto appearance

0:06

brand has what your car needs

0:08

to get that perfect summer shine.

0:10

Plus now you may thirty first

0:12

will give you Five dollars for

0:15

every twenty you spend on Armor.

0:17

All products. That means car wash,

0:19

pods, protected tire Shine, you name

0:21

it. Find out how to get

0:23

your five dollar rebate at Armor

0:25

or.com Armor or Less work more

0:27

Clean! Term Supply. Hey

0:31

there! Did you know Kroger always gives you

0:33

savings and rewards on top of our lower

0:35

than low prices? And when you download the

0:37

Kroger app, you'll enjoy over $500 in

0:39

savings every week with digital coupons. And don't

0:42

forget fuel points to help you save up

0:44

to $1 per gallon at the

0:46

pump. Want to save even more? With

0:48

a boost membership, you'll get double fuel points

0:50

and free delivery. So shop and save big

0:53

at Kroger today! Kroger, fresh

0:55

for everyone. Savings may vary by

0:57

state. Restrictions apply. See site for details.

1:00

Hey everybody. Welcome back to the

1:02

Elon Musk podcast. This is a

1:04

show where we discuss the critical

1:06

crossroads, the shape SpaceX, Tesla, X,

1:08

the boring company and Neuralink. And

1:11

I'm your host, Will Walden. One

1:13

more thing before we start. Google

1:15

podcasts is being discontinued by Google.

1:17

So if you want to continue

1:19

getting episodes of the Elon Musk

1:21

podcast, please check us out over

1:24

at YouTube music. Search us out

1:26

over there. And that's where you'll

1:28

be able to find our podcast

1:30

through Google products. Thank you so

1:32

much for understanding. I had no

1:34

control over this. Google pulled the

1:36

Google podcast app off of Android.

1:38

And I want to let you

1:40

know where to continue finding the

1:42

show over at YouTube music, search

1:44

for Elon Musk podcast. A recent

1:47

federal investigation revealed that Tesla's autopilot

1:49

and full self driving features have

1:51

been linked to numerous crashes, including

1:53

hundreds of injuries and dozens

1:55

of fatalities. This investigation, which

1:57

was spurred by a tragic incident. involving

2:00

a North Carolina student and a Tesla

2:02

Model Y shows that there

2:04

are serious concerns about the safety and

2:06

effectiveness of these technologies. In

2:09

March of 2023, a high speed collision

2:12

occurred when a Tesla Model 3 operating

2:15

on autopilot struck a 17-year-old

2:17

student as he exited a

2:19

school bus. This

2:21

incident prompted the National Highway

2:23

Traffic Safety Administration, or the

2:26

NHTSA, to scrutinize similar

2:28

accidents involving Tesla's automated driving

2:30

services. Now, the NHTSA's

2:32

extensive review covered 956 incidents dating from

2:34

January 2018 through August of

2:40

2023. They discovered a troubling

2:42

pattern where Tesla's technology failed to

2:44

ensure drivers remained engaged, resulting in

2:46

29 deaths and numerous injuries across

2:48

various scenarios. The

2:51

findings indicate that drivers often

2:53

disengaged from the driving process

2:55

while using autopilot or full

2:57

self-driving. Despite Tesla's guidance on

3:00

maintaining hands on the wheel and

3:02

eyes on the road, many drivers

3:04

became complacent, leading to

3:06

catastrophic outcomes. Particularly

3:08

concerning were the crashes involving

3:10

stationary emergency vehicles. These

3:12

incidents typically occurred at night

3:15

and involved autopilot ignoring critical

3:17

scene control measures like

3:19

warning lights and cones highlighting

3:21

a grave oversight in Tesla's

3:23

system design. The

3:25

NHTSA criticized Tesla for not

3:27

designing a system to keep

3:29

drivers adequately engaged. This

3:32

flaw appears to have allowed drivers

3:34

to over-rely on autopilot, thus not

3:36

reacting quickly enough to avoid collisions as

3:39

evidenced in 59

3:41

detailed crash investigations. Now,

3:44

analysis of these incidents showed that

3:46

often drivers had significant warning times

3:48

up to 10 seconds before impact

3:50

that were not utilized effectively to

3:53

prevent crashes, revealing a critical safety

3:55

gap in Tesla's automation technology. And

3:58

the agency also noted that Tesla's approach

4:00

to automation differs significantly from

4:02

other manufacturers, while others

4:05

promote driver assistance as an aid.

4:07

Tesla's branding suggests higher level of

4:09

autonomy, which may mislead users

4:12

about the capabilities and safe use

4:14

of autopilot and full self-driving.

4:17

Furthermore, the NHTSA has raised

4:19

concerns about Tesla's failure to

4:21

collect comprehensive telemetry data, suggesting that the

4:24

true scale of issues related to autopilot

4:26

and full self-driving could also

4:28

be underreported. And

4:30

in response to these findings, Tesla implemented

4:33

a voluntary recall, issuing a software

4:35

update intended to enhance driver monitoring

4:38

and engagement alerts. However, ongoing reports

4:40

of crashes have led to skepticism

4:42

about the effectiveness of these updates.

4:45

NHTSA's ongoing investigations and the

4:47

recent findings underscore the agency's

4:50

concerns about the safety of

4:52

Tesla's automated driving features. This

4:55

scrutiny comes amidst Tesla's ambitious

4:57

plans to advance towards full

4:59

autonomous vehicles, which has been

5:01

something that they've been promising for a

5:03

very long time and haven't delivered on.

5:05

And despite the controversies, Tesla CEO

5:07

Elon Musk continues to assert the

5:10

safety and superiority of

5:12

Tesla's technology over traditional driving,

5:14

claiming that autonomy could significantly

5:16

reduce traffic accidents. Musk's

5:18

confidence in Tesla's autonomous future was

5:21

reiterated during a recent earnings call,

5:23

where he stated that achieving full

5:25

autonomy would be pivotal for the

5:27

company's success. He encouraged

5:30

investors to trust in Tesla's

5:32

capability to solve autonomy, emphasizing

5:34

the potential to transform all

5:37

transportation. However, critics

5:40

and safety experts argue that Tesla's

5:42

promotional strategies and public statements

5:44

often overstate the capabilities of the

5:47

driving systems. This

5:49

practice, known as auto

5:51

no washing, has been highlighted as

5:54

potentially misleading consumers about the true

5:56

functionality and safety of autopilot and

5:59

full self-driving. Recent

6:01

legislative attention from Senator Edward

6:03

J. Markey and Richard Blumenthal has

6:06

further pressured regulatory bodies to enforce

6:08

stricter controls on where and how

6:11

Tesla's autopilot features should be used,

6:14

aiming to mitigate further risks to public

6:16

safety. And the ongoing

6:18

debate about Tesla's technology and its

6:20

regulatory scrutiny show that there's

6:22

more challenges in the automotive

6:25

industry's shift towards autonomous driving.

6:28

It's kind of a long way away. If you

6:31

think about it, it has been a development

6:33

for around 10 plus years. Autonomy

6:36

in vehicles at scale

6:38

is a thing that hasn't happened yet.

6:40

And Tesla's at the forefront of it,

6:43

but they're still pretty far away. And

6:45

as companies like Tesla push the boundaries

6:48

of this tech, the safety

6:51

during these innovations remains

6:54

critical. The NHTSA

6:56

is comprehensive review and

6:58

its actions indicate a cautious

7:00

approach towards autonomous driving technology.

7:02

Now ensuring that these

7:05

systems do not compromise safety while advancing

7:07

innovation is essential for their

7:09

acceptance and success in the

7:11

United States and all over the world. Now

7:14

while Tesla's autopilot and full

7:16

self-driving technologies represent significant advancements

7:19

in auto tech, the current implementation

7:21

and oversight raise important safety concerns.

7:23

It's crucial for Tesla to address

7:25

these issues as they continue to

7:27

develop and promote autonomy

7:29

in all of their vehicles. Hey

7:32

thank you so much for listening today.

7:34

I really do appreciate your support. If

7:36

you could take a second and hit

7:38

the subscribe or the follow button on

7:40

whatever podcast platform that you're listening on,

7:42

right now I greatly appreciate it. It

7:44

helps out the show tremendously and you'll

7:46

never miss an episode. And each episode

7:48

is about 10 minutes or less to

7:50

get you caught up quickly. And please

7:52

if you want to support the show

7:54

even more go to patreon.com/stage zero and

7:56

please take care of yourselves and each

7:58

other and I'll see you tomorrow.