Tesla’s autopilot remains in the spotlight

A Tesla vehicle involved in a deadly crash in Florida that’s under investigation because the driver was using automated technology was speeding before striking a truck. At the time, Musk declared that Tesla will soon achieve “moderate and maybe big advances” to the Autopilot system. The fatal accident has roiled the debate over self-driving cars, with consumer groups calling for federal regulators to slow down a push from automakers and tech companies like Google to win wide latitude for autonomous vehicle testing.

The NTSB did not yet include the probable cause of the accident. Tesla seems comfortable with letting its customers beta-test its newest systems; Mobileye wants to label its current product as a mere “driver assistance” feature.

Tesla Motors Inc Chief Executive Elon Musk said on Tuesday that the company’s Model 3 could generate $20 billion (15.21 billion pounds) in revenue per year and an annual gross profit of about $5 billion.

The NTSB found that Mr. Brown was using Tesla’s advanced driver assistance features such as the Traffic Aware Cruise Control and Autosteer lane keeping assistance while driving his Model S at the time. The agency said investigators are still gathering and analyzing data from the car’s electronic systems.

Musk claimed there would be no effect on Tesla’s plans and that Mobileye would continue to “support and maintain” the existing Autopilot program.

“I think in a partnership, we need to be there on all aspect of how the technology being used, and not simply providing technology”, said by Mobileye CTO Amnon Shashua.

Tesla faces a separate investigation by the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) into whether the system poses an unreasonable risk to driver safety.

Tesla spokeswoman Khobi Brooklyn didn’t immediately respond to e-mailed questions.

Mobileye said it would concentrate on systems that lead to full autonomy rather than systems that take partial control from drivers.

Musk said he was “frustrated” by the media coverage from the crash in Florida and that Tesla’s Autopilot technology has made the company’s cars safer. Just last month, the company declared it had formed a partnership with BMW and Intel to design a system for completely autonomous cars by 2021.