Tesla Autopilot Criticized For Heavy Reliance On Cameras In Scathing Crash Report

Upon sifting through more than 200 Tesla Autopilot-related crashes, a leading news agency has found a common thread that has led to serious injuries and fatalities. While driver error is usually to blame, the report showed that Tesla's stubborn reliance on cameras for Autopilot functionality could be the main culprit here. Time to get on the LIDAR bandwagon, Elon!

Already facing years of public criticism, discussion, and even formal investigations by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), Tesla and its contentious Autopilot and Full-Self Drive semi-autonomous technology continues to ply our roads. The system has continued to be linked to crashes without any foreseeable plans by Tesla to significantly address the issue. 

Currently Tesla vehicles equipped with Autopilot scan the surroundings with a slew of cameras installed around the front, sides, and rear. Using a combination of images and complex programs and machine learning, the EVs can recognize and respond to various scenarios when Autopilot is engaged, such as cruising in curves or knowing when to stop or steer around obstacles like animals, objects, or humans.

As many know, the Level 2 semi-autonomous Tesla Autopilot (despite it often being erroneously used as a full autopilot system), has frequently failed to identify and react safely to complex situations, causing serious injury, property damage, and even death. In a recent investigation by The Wall Street Journal, the agency investigated 222 of these crashes and found that in each of those crashes, Autopilot's visual camera systems weren't recognizing things like trains at a train crossing or overturned tractor trailers on the highway. 

Of the 222 cases, the site found 44 were caused when Tesla vehicles veered unexpectedly, while 31 accidents were because the cars didn't yield or stop for an obstacle, with the latter being the leading cause of fatalities and serious injuries. In the video report, experts chime in that Tesla needs to seriously upgrade its vision systems. Most manufacturers with semi-autonomous features already employ LIDAR along with radar and cameras in their sensor suite. Elon Musk, however, remains adamant that cameras are perfectly adequate, deeming the addition of other systems costly waste.

What do you think of this? Is Tesla's camera/radar system solely the problem here? According to some reports, Teslas have caused the most fatal accidents (147) in the last five years, but when counted by crashes per 1,000 vehicles sold, the Nissan Leaf and the Lucid Air topped the highest EV crashes in the country.