There have been around twelve Tesla accidents involving the self-driving feature resulting in injury or death. I find it remarkable that the lawsuits involving Tesla's self-driving feature have not had an impact on the company.

A real problem for Tesla is Elon Musk. He frequently makes false claims about Tesla and other topics. He got rid of any LIDAR/Radar sensors for Telsa, claiming that because the human brain can drive cars, Tesla's automated driving feature can drive cars. The errors in this claim include not understanding the sophistication of the human visual system and its ability to recognize objects.

An issue that I have not seen addressed with self-driving vehicles is the tendency for people to hold automated systems to a higher standard than people are held to.

If a self-driving system was as good as a human, the accident rate (about 15K non-alcohol-related deaths a year) would be viewed as unacceptable. Even if this death rate were discounted for lack of attention (cell phones) and speeding by 50%, approximately 8K deaths per year would be a problem, even though this death rate is much better than human drivers.

Self-driving trucks on long-haul routes between highway-connected warehouses will be used in the next few years. Self-driving cars are going to take much longer.

From the Washington Post, Feb 2, 2022

Teslas are unexpectedly slamming on their brakes in response to imagined hazards — such as oncoming traffic on two-lane roads — which has prompted their terrified owners to lodge a surge of complaints with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration over the past three months, according to a Washington Post analysis of federal auto safety data.

The phenomenon, known as “phantom braking,” has been a persistent issue for Tesla vehicles.

The automaker was forced to recall a version of its Full Self-Driving software in October over false positives to its automatic emergency-braking system that it said were triggered by the software update. Complaints soared after the recall and remain elevated, signaling continued owner concern.

Owner reports of phantom braking to NHTSA rose to 107 complaints in the past three months, compared with only 34 in the preceding 22 month