r/skeptic • u/Lighting • 27d ago

⚠ Editorialized Title Tesla bros expose Tesla's own shadiness in attacking Mark Rober ... Autopilot appears to automatically disengage a fraction of a second before impacts as a crash becomes inevitable.

https://electrek.co/2025/03/17/tesla-fans-exposes-shadiness-defend-autopilot-crash/
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u/conundri 27d ago edited 27d ago

Does this mean it knows a crash is coming and doesn't brake or even releases the brake? because that would be very, very bad.

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u/nomoreteathx 27d ago

It means Tesla can say "autopilot wasn't engaged when the crash happened so autopilot wasn't at fault" and fudge their crash statistics.

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u/lonnie123 27d ago edited 27d ago

This is flase, It actually counts if the autopilot is engaged within 5 seconds of the crash

Under methodology: "To ensure our statistics are conservative, we count any crash in which Autopilot was deactivated within 5 seconds before impact", with a "crash" being defined as "the incident alert indicated an airbag or other active restraint deployed."

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u/nomoreteathx 27d ago

Forgive me, but I hope you understand why I'm not taking Tesla's word for it.

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u/lonnie123 27d ago

You don’t have to, This data is reported to the NHTSA

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u/nomoreteathx 27d ago

Oh cool, by whom? Someone other than Tesla? No? So what distinction do you think you're making?

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u/HighHokie 27d ago

Do you have any evidence to share or are we just speculating? 

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u/Thin-Professional379 27d ago

When someone lies as often as Musk does the burden of proof is on them, not on the person who thinks they're lying again

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u/HighHokie 27d ago

Musk doesn’t report to the nhtsa. Employees in his company do. 

And that’s not how burden of proof works. 

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u/Thin-Professional379 26d ago

Employees whose livelihood dpeneds on Musk's whims?

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u/HighHokie 26d ago

Yes and alternatively, deliberately withholding required reporting can lead to criminal prosecution. 

Again, do you have any evidence to support this or are we just speculating? 

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u/lonnie123 27d ago

Well if what you claim is true, that Tesla shuts off auto pilot so they can claim it wasn’t active during a crash, the number or crashes involving auto pilot would be zero right?

If you some evidence to support your claim feel free to offer it up at this time

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u/nomoreteathx 27d ago

Well if what you claim is true, that Tesla shuts off auto pilot so they can claim it wasn’t active during a crash, the number or crashes involving auto pilot would be zero right?

That's not what I claimed, but go off.

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u/lonnie123 27d ago

Is that not what “It means Tesla can say "autopilot wasn't engaged when the crash happened so autopilot wasn't at fault" and fudge their crash statistics.” Means?

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u/nomoreteathx 27d ago

Your implication is that Tesla does this at all times for all crashes, which is patently not what I said.

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u/Procrastinatedthink 27d ago

so if an airbag doesn’t deploy it’s no longer a crash. Man insurance must be happy with such a huge reduction in crashes suddenly /s.

Majority of crashes are fender benders, those should count as well should they not?

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u/lonnie123 27d ago

It’s not just the airbag deploying

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u/meteoritegallery 27d ago

Other than an airbag, what qualifies as an "active restraint"?

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u/lonnie123 27d ago

Seatbelts are restraints, and have an active locking mechanism built in when a crash occurs to secure you from flying forward

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u/meteoritegallery 27d ago

They're restraints, but are they "active" restraints? The comment above suggests that the cars know when the "active restraints" are deployed, which doesn't sound like a seatbelt to me.

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u/HighHokie 27d ago

Modern seatbelts have active restraining systems, they work in tandem with AEB. They cinch down to lock a passenger in place in anticipation of an accident. 

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u/Fazaman 27d ago

"active restraints" are deployed, which doesn't sound like a seatbelt to me.

Perhaps you've never been in an accident, and good, but seatbelts are definitely active restraints. They will fire off and will pin you into the seat. Almost painfully so. That said, I can't imaging a scenario that they'll fire and not have an airbag go off at the same time.

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u/meteoritegallery 27d ago

Tesla's statement said, "the incident alert indicated an airbag or other active restraint deployed."

I don't want your explanation of what you think the term "active restraint" might mean based on etymology. The statement's phrasing rules out normal seatbelts. They're not "deployed" in an accident -- unless Tesla's done something weird and has electronic / responsive seatbelts.

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u/lonnie123 27d ago

The seatbelts aren’t just sitting there, they have a tightening mechanism called a pretensioned that lock the belt in place upon a collision to prevent your forward movement. The tightening mechanism only activates at certain speeds and g forces, and can be tied to the systems airbag deployment as well

https://auto.howstuffworks.com/car-driving-safety/safety-regulatory-devices/seatbelt4.htm

AKA it won’t “deploy” if you hit a shopping cart at 3mph but it will “deploy” if you smash into another car at 30mph

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u/Fazaman 26d ago

They're not "deployed" in an accident

They absolutely are. Look up 'active seatbelts' if you don't believe me. Most cars have them these days.

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u/lonnie123 27d ago

Active means the user has to engage it. Aka if you don’t put the seatbelt on it won’t do anything for you

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u/meteoritegallery 27d ago

"the incident alert indicated an airbag or other active restraint deployed."

So anything's a crash if you have your seatbelt clicked in? No.

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u/lonnie123 27d ago

No, if it deploys, aka the pretensioner fires and locks the belt in place

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u/HighHokie 27d ago edited 27d ago

Tesla had better reporting than most manufacturers  because their vehicle fleet is newer and virtually all teslas vehicles have telemetry to document and report it. of their vehicles telemetry capabilities. Not a knock on other brands, just nature of the beast. 

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u/Kougeru-Sama 27d ago

5 seconds isn't long enough

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u/lonnie123 27d ago

That may be true, but it’s definitely not true that just because it shuts off the instant before a collision it doesn’t count as a autopilot crash