back to article German regulators won't let Tesla use the name 'Autopilot'

Germany's transport ministry has warned Tesla not to call its driver assist system “Autopilot” within the Bundesrepublik. Tabloid Bild am Sontag (Picture on Sunday) says the country's Motor Transport Authority has notified Elon's electrics of the decision, saying the term “autopilot” is misleading. The authority's letter, …

  1. Magani
    Happy

    Elon the robot?

    ...the country's Motor Transport Authority has notified Elon's electrics of the decision,...

    I knew he was aiming high, but the release of an electric person wasn't on the last press release.

    Do Tesla's Dream of Electric Sheep?

    1. allthecoolshortnamesweretaken

      Re: Elon the robot?

      Do Teslas run over Electric Sheep* ?

      * Good name for a band, BTW.

  2. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Well done Germany

    I say that as someone who has written code for commercial aircraft auto-pilots. The testing and certification needed for them is immense.

    If Tesla showed that their code had been written to the same standards and gone through the same testing then I might accept the term 'autopilot'. But honestly, until every vehicle is fitted with similar devices AND they talk to each other then there will be crashes and sometimes big ones. You can't code for the falllable humans who are not (yet) controlled by an AP.

    It also needs other car makers to adopt the tech and forge a common standard for IVC (inter vehicle Communication). I know that one German Auto maker suggested this in the 1980's. Where is it now eh?

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Well done Germany

      IMHO this whole fracas is what you get when marketing people get ahead of themselves.

      Yes, it's pretty good what they've done, but as always, someone then goes and overhypes it and the result is more damage than if they'd just labelled it for what it was, which is driver assistance.

      That said, if they spoke a normal language and dealt with reality I guess they would not work in marketing..

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Well done Germany

        someone then goes and overhypes it

        "Unbreakable Linux" ?...

      2. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Well done Germany

        What's impressive here is that it has been done 'pre-emptively' before the German launch. Yep, it's only words, but its good to be brought back down, when you get above yourself-too quickly. I've no doubt Elon Musk's intentions are generally good though, unlike Microsoft.

        In UK English, 'Autopilot' doesn't have that sense of be all, end all, so its not really an issue. We're naturally sceptical.

        Just look at the case of Which? (Consumer Rights) in the UK complaining about Microsoft's Windows 7 - Get Windows 10 nagware. Which? speaking out {finally} 18 months after the launch, a day after Microsoft finally issues patch KB3184143 to remove the Get Windows 10 notification KB3035583, (but note, re-releases update KB2952664 again this month-Oct16).

        UK authorities like Trading Standards failing to act against Microsoft for obvious inequalities regards disabled/partially sighted users. I wonder sometimes if they just shuffle virtual paper all day.

        Letting Microsoft get off 'scot-free' sends all the wrong signals to other Multinationals regards Disability. Let's not even go there with the borked Windows 7 Updates (now fixed too, 'sort of').

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: Well done Germany

          UK authorities like Trading Standards failing to act against Microsoft for obvious inequalities regards disabled/partially sighted users. I wonder sometimes if they just shuffle virtual paper all day.

          Nah, it's politics. Microsoft got its claws into UK government to such a depth that one Bill Gates got a knighthood out of it, and there are still plenty contacts left to dampen any outright challengers. Why do you think the mandate to go all ODF hasn't taken hold *at all*?

          By the way, Microsoft just got its claws into a new EU nation. Give it 2 years and you'll see which one it is as it'll be in the news for failing government infrastructure as much as the UK was during the Tony Blair years.

      3. Prst. V.Jeltz Silver badge

        Re: Well done Germany

        " what you get when marketing people get ahead of themselves."

        spot on , and bloody irresponsible of them!

        Remember that story of the guy in the winnebago who flicked cruise control on and went for a nap?

        Well thats all bullshit. Obviously . Dont be so gullible. Its got urban myth written all over it.

        However if cars had had "autopilot" buttons for as long as they've had cruise control we'd have seen many many cases if darwin award winning idiocy by now.

      4. Alistair
        Coat

        Re: Well done Germany

        "IMHO this whole fracas is what you get when marketing people get ahead of themselves hold of a product."

        FTFY.

        1. werdsmith Silver badge

          Re: Well done Germany

          This is an example of having to legislate for the lowest common denominator.

          Tesla warn people at every opportunity that they need to stay in control of their car, maintain full attention to the road and hold the steering wheel. When they buy the car, when they start the car, when they switch on the assist, when they engage it. And if they still don't pay enough attention it reminds them again.

          If, after all that, the driver still thinks they can watch a DVD then changing a couple of works really is not going to make any difference.

        2. Captain DaFt

          Re: Well done Germany

          "IMHO this whole fracas is what you get when marketing people get ahead of themselves hold of a product."

          As so amply demonstrated in this classic MPFC sketch.

          The two... no three things certain in this life are Death, taxes, and marketeering excesses.

    2. Adrian Tawse

      Re: Well done Germany

      No, bloody stupid decision. Autopilot is an accurate description. If a pilot in an Aircraft engages autopilot the aircraft will quit happily obey the introductions and fly into anything in the way, another aircraft, mountain, storm, anything at all. Engaging autopilot does not mean the pilot can go to sleep.

  3. getHandle

    Turn it off?

    I can't help feeling that turning autopilot off if the driver doesn't respond isn't the most sensible choice. What if they're asleep?!

    Ever more strident warnings and alarms might be better...

    1. Fruit and Nutcase Silver badge

      Re: Turn it off?

      @getHandle

      What if they're asleep?!

      Already addressed...

      http://www.theregister.co.uk/2016/09/12/tesla_autopilot_sw_update/

      "The company has also implemented a new approach to drivers who get lazy and rely on the autopilot too much. Warning alerts will be more prominent. And if a driver does not respond to such alerts, the car will not only slow down but will prevent the driver from re-engaging Autopilot until they have come to a full stop."

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Turn it off?

        "The company has also implemented a new approach to drivers who get lazy and rely on the autopilot too much. Warning alerts will be more prominent. And if a driver does not respond to such alerts, the car will not only slow down but will prevent the driver from re-engaging Autopilot until they have come to a full stop."

        "The third time in a month Autopilot has to act, the system will lock out the function until the driver obtains an unlock code from the nearest police station"

        Not that I'd trust PC Plod anywhere near a computer, but forcing idiots to answer some uncomfortable questions has at least the potential to make them think.

  4. allthecoolshortnamesweretaken

    Autopilot

    Nicht-autonomes Fahrerassistenzsystem mit beschränktem Entscheidungsspielraum und unter ständiger Aufsicht durch den Fahzeuglenker für den Einsatz auf Bundesautobahnen, Bundesfernstraßen und dafür freigegebenen und entsprechend gekennzeichneten innerörtlichen Verkehrswegen, unter Vorbehalt einer entsprechenden Zusatzqualifikation des Fahrzeuglenkers und der Zustimmung des Trägers der Kfz-Unfall- und Haftpflichtversicherung.

    1. Richard 12 Silver badge

      I regret that I have but one upvote to give.

      :)

    2. Fruit and Nutcase Silver badge

      @ allthecoolshortnamesweretaken

      Vorsprung durch Tecknic und Verordnung

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Vorsprung durch Tecknic und Verordnung

        Sorry, but if you're going to speak German you will, by default, invoke the pedant gnome.

        It's "Vorsprung durch Technik und Verordnung" :)

        1. Fruit and Nutcase Silver badge
          Unhappy

          Tecknik

          @AC

          noted. However, if I'd not omitted the "h", I could possibly have used the excuse of using the correct letters, but not necessarily in the right order...

          Morecambe and Wise - Grieg's Piano Concerto

          "I'm playing all the right notes—but not necessarily in the right order."

          (Looks like Aunty Beeb has blocked the youtube clips...)

    3. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Shouldn't that all be one word?

    4. 's water music

      Shouldn't that all be run together to form a single compound word?

    5. GrumpenKraut

      @allthecoolshortnamesweretaken

      Commonly abbreviated NaFmbEuustAddFfdEaBBudfuegiVuVeeZdFudZdTdKUuH.

      1. TRT Silver badge

        Re: @allthecoolshortnamesweretaken

        Reminds me of the Flint Lockwood Diatonic Super Mutating Dynamic Food Replicator.

  5. Sebastian Brosig
    Facepalm

    Potztausend! Maybe we should not call it an automobile, German "Auto" either, lest someone thinks "auto" means it works without a driver, rather than just without horses pulling it.

    1. Prst. V.Jeltz Silver badge

      bit late - even the roads have auto in them over there!

  6. frank ly

    Assistopilot

    See title

    1. Commswonk

      Re: Assistopilot

      Definitely not, please; too easily converted into Assist - o - Pilot, which I suspect would be popular in the US.

      Ugh.

      1. Fruit and Nutcase Silver badge
        Alert

        Re: Assistopilot

        @Commswonk

        Drive - o- Matic

        1. VinceH

          Re: Assistopilot

          How about, er, "Driver Assist" ?

      2. werdsmith Silver badge

        Re: Assistopilot

        Definitely not, please; too easily converted into Assist - o - Pilot, which I suspect would be popular in the US.

        In the 1950s Cessna aircraft marketed their spring steel undercarriage with a nosewheel instead of tailwheel arrangement as "land-o-matic". Interestingly, people did not expect the aircraft to land without any pilot control inputs.

    2. DropBear
      Trollface

      Re: Assistopilot

      Naaah, retro is all the rage these days - how about "Pilotron"? Or, if you're going for that authentic 80's vibe, "Pilotron 3000"...?

      1. TRT Silver badge

        Re: Assistopilot

        Machine Assisted Driving Method - Autonomous eXecution.

        The select button panel is labelled

        Mode select:

        "Normal"

        "Sports"

        "Off-road"

        "MADMAX".

        1. Fruit and Nutcase Silver badge
          Joke

          Re: Assistopilot

          @TRT

          Additional modes...

          "BMW"

          "Mercedes"

          "Audi"

          "White Van"

          "Sunday Driver"

    3. JeffyPoooh
      Pint

      Re: Assistopilot

      How about: CrashAndDieOMatic ?

    4. Toltec

      Re: Assistopilot

      How about-

      DroneDrive

      Just to make it even more controversial.

      1. TRT Silver badge

        Re: Assistopilot

        Could be AutoCruise... But then you'd need to switch between the different modes.

        Auto Mode cruise,

        Lane Assist Mode cruise,

        Throttle Only Mode cruise.

        Ah, maybe not.

  7. lglethal Silver badge
    Thumb Up

    Go Germany!

    God I'm glad I live in Germany these days! Sometimes it really feels like the only non-crazy country out there!

    1. John Doe 12

      Re: Go Germany! I don't think so ha ha

      Spoken like a true German!! However I suggest you step outside for a moment and then look back through the windows and you will see what the rest of the world is looking at :-/

      Perhaps you were thinking of all those flyers Merkel has been handing out entitled "GO TO GERMANY!!"

      1. druck Silver badge

        Re: Go Germany! I don't think so ha ha

        Or turning of nuclear power, in favour of a hideous combination of expensive wind and dirty coal.

      2. lglethal Silver badge
        FAIL

        Re: Go Germany! I don't think so ha ha

        Actually for the record I'm an Aussie. And having lived in 8 different nations across Asia, Europe and the Middle East (minimum of 6 months each), I can hands down say Germany is the best nation I've lived in (including Aus!), and the only one that does a damn thing to protect individual rights.

        I also dont have any problem with refugees coming here. Since the German government weren't willing to intervene militarily in Syria, it's only right that they try to help the people affected by it.

        Strongest economy in Europe, strong industry, great people with a great ethic. I'm happy as punch to be living here. Oh and your comment "spoken like a true German" - as a rule, German's dont brag about how great their country is, they're a particularly modest people. Unlike others I can think of...

        1. werdsmith Silver badge

          Re: Go Germany! I don't think so ha ha

          as a rule, German's dont brag about how great their country is, they're a particularly modest people.

          We know different Germans.

          1. Anonymous Coward
            Anonymous Coward

            Re: Go Germany!

            Germans have nothing to brag about...

            Germany is not even a country... the BRD LLC controls the area of Germany under Admiralty law and sends its profits to the USA and UK. Afaik, Russia and France bowed out, but Obama just recently said that Germany will never be a country again. They never got a peace contract either.

            Furthermore, the gullible Germans have failed to oust or even *notice* globalist stooge Merkel, who will run any and all errands asked of her by her true masters: International banksters and corporate interests.

            Merkel's hands are permanently frozen in a Freemason hand sign. She might be able to regain normal use of her hands with the help of surgery, but all hope is lost for the language center in her brain. No actual meaning will issue forth from her lips. Without the presence of MK-Ultra facilities in Germany the very existence of Merkel would have to be ruled out.

            Lastly, the media is more tightly controlled than ever before, including the dark ages before the invention of the printing press.

        2. John Doe 12

          Re: Go Germany! I don't think so ha ha

          I also dont have any problem with refugees coming here.

          Well I am going to assume that you are male then as you don't seem to be worried about getting sexually molested by any of Merkel's "guests". Also economic migrants (making up a large part of the influx) are NOT refugees!!

          Germany actually has the potential to be great but frankly the whole VW scandal just caps off how it simply failed to make it happen. However as I have never been "down under" I will bow to your knowledge that Australia is a worse place to live than Germany ;-)

  8. GettinSadda

    I don't get it!

    This makes absolutely no sense to me as the very term "autopilot" comes from aviation, where it is a device that holds the heading and possibly the altitude of an aircraft constant. It is not used to mean a device that is capable of monitoring air traffic or other hazards such as terrain or weather. When a plane is flying on autopilot the actual pilot is still responsible to all of these things. It seems that the problem is not the word, but the fact that people think it is something it isn't. I believe that Elon deliberately chose the term because it emphasised the fact that it was NOT a self-driving system, but something similar to the aviation device of the same name.

    1. Fred Flintstone Gold badge

      Re: I don't get it!

      I wouldn't go too literal on this, although I'd welcome a car that would maintain altitude. With a bit of planning and judicial use of bridges it would a big help during peak hours - that is, until other drivers figure it out :)

    2. Lars Silver badge
      Happy

      Re: I don't get it!

      Perhaps used at sea first, they call pilots to assist them after all.

  9. Fruit and Nutcase Silver badge
    Joke

    Windows for Automobiles

    Driver Assistance by Clippy

    Dear World

    I can't take it any more I've decided

    Clippy: Looks like you want to commit suicide! Let Driver Assistant help you compose your suicide note and then drive you off a cliff.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Windows for Automobiles

      Excellent. I was thinking more along the lines of looking like a Windows 10 malware infected dashboard, with switches changing of their own fruition, each time I start the car or while driving for that matter (in the same way the Windows 10 Start Menu is never the same two days running, or things you remove/turn off - come back on).

      You really can't distinguish the Windows 10 1607 Start Menu from Malware anymore, it looks, acts, operates like Malware, for all intents and purposes it 'is' Malware.

  10. Anonymous Coward
    Black Helicopters

    Am I the only cynical one that thinks this has nothing to do with safety and everything to do with preventing Tesla eating too much of BMW/Mercedes/Porsche's pie?

    1. arthoss

      Sound like a paranoid one! But unfortunately the Germans tested and found out that the assist-o-pilot doesn't look far enough ( Außerdem blicken die Sensoren, die die Nebenspur vor einem Überholvorgang prüfen, demnach nur 40 Meter nach hinten. ). When the guy from is about to pass you with 200 Km/h do you think the car will react fast enough to avoid a deadly crash?

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        But unfortunately the Germans tested and found out that the assist-o-pilot doesn't look far enough

        Yes, 40m is about 400m short of what you need to scan behind you as a good driver on German roads, more if you go slow, and you need to map about 1km ahead of you as well. It's more about scanning for what could potentially become a hazard, like Dutch people with caravans, and planning ahead so you maintain a good margin of safety.

        To be honest, I can't see a computer doing that yet. It's great at catching fast incidents at low speed like wayward pedestrians, but as speed goes up, your range of observation has to go with it. I'm actually rather impressed it all works as good as it does at the moment.

  11. unwarranted triumphalism

    Good

    I'd like the regulator to take a close look at Elon Musk's borderline criminal enterprises. A very close look indeed.

    He managed to charm the green/left idiots here into accepting his idiotic overpriced milk floats, let's see how he deals with a competent country like Germany.

    1. Commswonk

      Re: Good

      ...let's see how he deals with a competent country like Germany.

      Would that be the same Germany that is home to, er, VW?

      OTOH VW's actions were (in a way) quite competent but underhand. Should the same word be applied to the entire country, perhaps?

      1. unwarranted triumphalism

        Re: Good

        VW did nothing wrong.

        1. Not That Andrew

          Re: VW did nothing wrong

          Ah, it was a rogue cell or splinter group then?

          1. Alistair
            Coat

            Re: VW did nothing wrong

            NTA, it was a rogue group of splinter cell players.

            1. Anonymous Coward
              Anonymous Coward

              Re: VW did nothing wrong

              a rogue group of splinter cell players

              Isn't that called a carbon filter? Oh, wait ..

              1. werdsmith Silver badge

                Re: VW did nothing wrong

                VW did nothing wrong, so VW's management were apologising and sending billions of € compensating people for the sheer embarassment of being a VW driver.

  12. unwarranted triumphalism

    I have a sense of foreboding about this

    It's going to turn into KITT vs KARR all over again.

  13. Stevie

    Bah!

    No word on the mandatory fitting of a proximity-triggered "Yeeeeeehaaaaaa!" klaxon then?

  14. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    "Needs a few more days of refinement."

    Dear Mr. Musk

    That's not quite how real engineering is done, particularly in respect of life critical systems.

    You design, you prototype, you test, you modify, you test, you adjust, you test, you refine, YOU TEST, YOU TEST, YOU TEST, you approve, you release.

    Otherwise you have to include in your terms and conditions a clear statement of your assumption that your customers are also your crash test dummies.

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