Senior Volvo Engineer Thinks Tesla's Autopilot System Sucks

As far as Tesla is concerned, its Autopilot system has been a roaring success. After all, Elon Musk mentioned only recently that it reduces the probability of an accident for its users by a massive 50 per cent. However, not everyone is convinced.

Speaking to The Verge, Volvo’s senior technical leader of crash avoidance Trent Victor was critical of the system, saying that “it gives you the impression that it’s doing more than it is,” adding that Autopilot “is more of an unsupervised wannabe.”

The danger of this, according to Victor, is that its users are tempted to get on with other things - checking emails, high-fiving passengers etc - despite the fact they’re expected to take back control at a moment’s notice. And if they do need to take back control, crucial time will be lost due to the fact that they’re not prepared.

This is what’s known as a Level 3 autonomous vehicle, but what Volvo prefers is the idea of a Level 4 vehicle. That’s why Volvo’s Drive Me pilot - due to be rolled out in limited public tests next year - fits into the Level 4 description, and will be a safer solution, says Victor. “In our concept, if you don’t take over, if you have fallen asleep or are watching a film, then we will take responsibility still… We won’t just turn [it] off.”