Mobileye(NYSE: MBLY) chairman Amnon Shashua has told "Reuters" about the reasons behind the Israeli driver assistance systems and collision avoidance developer's decision to end cooperation with Tesla Motors.
The split came at the end of July after a Tesla car using Mobileye's EyeQ3 sensor technology was involved in a fatal crash in Florida in May. Shashua said that Tesla was "pushing the envelope in terms of safety” with the design of its Autopilot driver-assistance system.
He added, "It is not designed to cover all possible crash situations in a safe manner. No matter how you spin it, (Autopilot) is not designed for that. It is a driver assistance system and not a driverless system."
After the fatal accident Tesla said, "Neither Autopilot nor the driver noticed the white side of the tractor trailer against a brightly lit sky, so the brake was not applied."
A Tesla spokesperson told "Reuters," yesterday, "The company had never described Autopilot as an autonomous technology or self-driving car. Since the release of Autopilot, we’ve continuously educated customers on the use of the features, reminding them that they’re responsible to keep their hands on the wheel and remain alert and present when using Autopilot," the spokeswoman said. "Drivers must be prepared to take control at all times."
However, "Reuters" observed, "Drivers using Autopilot were able to take their hands off the wheel at highway speeds for several minutes at a time. YouTube videos proliferated soon after the system's launch last fall showing Tesla drivers driving hands-free, prompting Musk to express concern about drivers doing "crazy things." The company in January said it was modifying the system."
Tesla is updating Autopilot to make it more difficult for drivers to ignore warnings to keep hands on the wheel and other changes that Elon Musk said would probably have prevented the fatality in May. Musk said the revised system will allow a driver's hands to be off the wheel for up to three minutes while following a car at highway speeds.
Shashua's comments, "Reuters" notes, escalate an unusually public rift in an industry where suppliers and automakers rarely speak ill of each other in public. After Mobileye announced its break with Tesla in July in the wake of the fatality, Tesla said in a statement that Mobileye could not keep pace with Tesla’s product changes.
Shashua criticized the mixed messages from Tesla about Autopilot - both boasting of its capabilities while cautioning that drivers needed to keep their hands on the wheel - especially after watching Tesla’s response to the Florida crash.
“Long term this is going to hurt the interests of the company and hurt the interests of an entire industry, if a company of our reputation will continue to be associated with this type of pushing the envelope in terms of safety,” Shashua said.
Mobileye works with 27 carmakers for its collision detection systems and has a 70% market share. In July, Mobileye teamed with German automaker BMW Group, and chipmaker Intel for the serial production of self-driving vehicles by 2021.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on September 15, 2016
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