According to Reuters, videos released by Tesla’s selected passengers in the first few days showed that the company’s self-driving taxis had multiple traffic problems and driving errors during the company’s first public self-driving taxi test in Austin, Texas, USA.
Model Y； Image credit: Tesla
Tesla fans invited to participate in the test expressed strong support for the trial and posted videos of hours of trouble-free driving, but the problem with Tesla’s self-driving taxis still raised questions from federal road safety regulators and automotive safety experts in the United States.
Problems include Tesla self-driving taxis driving into the wrong lane, getting passengers out of a multi-lane road or in the middle of an intersection, braking suddenly, speeding, and driving onto curbs. In the first video, a Tesla self-driving taxi drives into the oncoming lane for about 6 seconds. It is reported that the car drove into the intersection of the left turn lane and turned on the turn signal, and then the steering wheel shook briefly, and the vehicle did not turn, but drove directly into the opposite lane, causing the rear vehicle to honk.
In the second video, a Tesla self-driving taxi suddenly brakes without any obvious obstacles, and passengers are thrown forward with slammed goods scattered all over the floor. In the third video, a self-driving taxi suddenly stops twice in the middle of the road as it passes a police car with flashing police lights.
Tesla placed a human safety monitor in the passenger seat during the test. The fourth video shows the safety monitor pressing the button to stop the self-driving taxi when the delivery truck in front of it begins to reverse.
In addition, Farzad Mesbahi, a former project manager at Tesla, and his passengers chose to “get off early” during the ride. The video shows the vehicle stopping at an intersection at a traffic light, and they quickly get out of the car and walk to the sidewalk. Farzad Mesbahi said after the ride: “The car should know that it cannot be parked there. The passenger said: “There is room for improvement.” ”
Philip Koopman, a professor of computer engineering at Carnegie Mellon University and an expert in autonomous driving technology, said: “I didn’t expect so many videos of Tesla’s self-driving taxi driving mistakes on the first day. “Currently, Tesla is testing about 10 to 20 self-driving taxis, which are standard Model Y equipped with advanced software, and have been offering test rides since the afternoon of June 22. It is reported that Tesla launched the service to a small number of select passengers for a flat fee of $4.20 and is not open to the wider public, and Tesla self-driving taxis operate in a limited area while avoiding complex intersections and bad weather.
However, the incident captured by the camera did not involve an accident, and one expert said some of the problems reflect Tesla’s emphasis on safety. Alain Kornhauser, a professor of operations research and financial engineering at Princeton University, said via email: “So far, so good. Tesla self-driving taxis handle it very well, maybe even better than good drivers. He added that vehicles driving at a lower speed than mainstream traffic would be more dangerous.
A spokesperson for the city of Austin said officials had noticed Tesla’s problems recorded on social media and said they would immediately share them with Tesla when they learned of potential legal or safety issues. The spokesperson added that police are actively working with Tesla to ensure that officers can safely interact with self-driving taxis.
Reuters has independently verified the location of at least 11 videos showing the problem. Tesla has not yet responded to a request for comment in response to the above report.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk has linked the company’s financial future to autonomous driving technology, which has become increasingly important as Tesla’s sales decline. He said Tesla will roll out its self-driving taxi service to other cities in the United States later this year, andforecastBy the second half of next year, “millions of Teslas” will achieve “full self-driving”.
It is worth noting that other companies are facing similar problems: Waymo and Cruise have also been involved in traffic accidents on the streets of Austin. Over the past two years, city officials have documented dozens of incidents, with residents and authorities reporting self-driving taxis stopping in the middle of the road, blocking traffic, failing to respond to police instructions, and failing to respond to emergency vehicles and road closures.
