Tesla's Autopilot semi-autonomous car tech has been implicated in numerous crashes lately, and though it's been tough to say where the blame for these incidents lies, Tesla is convinced their software isn't at fault.
Indeed, the company is so confident in their tech that they plan to roll out an Autopilot update in August that will begin to implement "full self-driving features."
Additionally, Tesla further emphasized their belief that user error is the primary cause of these crashes by releasing an OTA software update designed to nag users into keeping their hands on the wheel at all times through constant alerts.
However, Tesla users aren't too pleased with the update. Many have taken to Twitter to state that their patience with the constant "keep your hands on the wheel" alerts is beginning to wear thin.
@elonmusk 2018.21.9 is a pain. I now need to white knuckle death grip the wheel to keep away the nags. Don't need to keep my foot on the peddles with old school cruise control!
--- Peter McCullough (@ifnd323) June 13, 2018
Tesla CEO Elon Musk responded by saying it's difficult to walk the line between annoying users and preserving driver safety.
Sigh. This is crux of matter: can't make system too annoying or people won't use it, negatively affecting safety, but also can't allow people to get too complacent or safety again suffers. Latest update should have a positive effect on latter issue especially.
--- Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 10, 2018
That said, Musk claims Tesla will soon be rolling out yet another update designed to help users avoid the alerts entirely. Apparently, the primary reason the warnings are happening so frequently is that users don't understand how to properly prevent them.
Musk claims users don't need to whiteknuckle their steering wheels; they merely need to maintain a "slight up or downward force" on it.
The update in question will clarify precisely what the company means by that on-screen, which will hopefully help drivers avoid Autopilot's constant nagging. That said, it's not clear when the update will roll out for users.