Because before Tesla launched the feature, "Autopilot" was known in the general consciousness to mean a specific thing. Autopilot is the thing on planes that lets the pilot do other tasks (like navigational routing).
Other car manufactures are smart enough to not brand their cruise control as "Self Driving" or the like.
If I sold a brand of drain cleaner under the name "Laundry Detergent" that would rightly result in some consumer protection investigations.
Not that I agree with your statement, but the "general consciousness" would be wrong in that case.
Autopilot in most aircraft will gladly fly you into the side of a mountain or other aircraft.
Um, what? A driver can override Tesla autopilot at any time.
I was talking about freeing the pilot from maintaining situational awareness. This is not supported for drivers of Tesla vehicles; the term "autopilot" is misleading in that context.
I haven't used the Ford system but I have used the Tesla system and it requires you to move the wheel at a pretty annoyingly and regular frequency to remain in autopilot mode. I believe the cabin camera can also detect when you are on your phone or looking away - but i'm not sure if this is rolled out to non-FSD cars.
I think the frequency that you have to prove you are paying attention is about every 30 seconds
https://electrek.co/2022/06/08/tesla-files-use-new-radar-con...
Should there be in investigations for motorcycle companies making unsafe bikes? Or is it more the case of certain people in general being predisposed to taking more risks and not realizing the consequences?
Why? Because most anyone already understands that motorcycles are dangerous, and those that choose to ignore risks get fucked. Why should Tesla be any different?
Here's the thing - people get in accidents all the time when assistance features like ABS, lane keeping, traction control, TACC, good-old-fashioned dumb cruise control, etc. are actively altering the vehicle's performance and behavior.
So when we consider Tesla's AP system, it's really just TACC + lane keeping. Something that is common on a wide variety of vehicles today. Why then is Tesla specifically being focused on? All these other systems have similar failure modes, including, but not limited to: Not stopping for a stopped vehicle far ahead, not slowing for or avoiding objects in or near the lane, etc.
These are assistance features. Thus, in all of these scenarios, it is likely that chief responsibility for the accident lies with the human behind the wheel. We should be studying all OEM systems, not just Tesla's. And specifically, we should be looking at whether the system made the situation worse through its actions than if it had taken no action (akin to a distracted human driving on dumb cruise control).
If it is the case that a Tesla on AP will ram right in to a firetruck flashing its lights while stopped in the lane directly ahead, it is quite likely that many other systems do the same. We just don't really talk about them, because it casually falls under the realm of "human wasn't paying attention". They're not special. We all sort of implicitly accept that. But when it's a Tesla, it's special.
In any case, we'll get over it eventually. This technology is not unique to Tesla and will only become more commonplace. It will continue to get better at avoiding things despite the hoards of distracted drivers.