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Tesla Losing Key Autopilot Supplier

Tesla Losing Key Autopilot Supplier

Mobileye said today it’ll no longer supply Tesla Motors with technology that helps power the electric carmaker’s Autopilot semi-autonomous driving system.

The Israeli company, which sells computer chips that work with cameras in advanced auto safety systems, said it instead will focus on projects such as its partnership with BMW and Intel to build autonomous cars.

“Moving toward more advanced autonomy is a paradigm shift both in terms of function complexity and the need to ensure an extremely high level of safety,” Mobileye said in a statement. “There is much at stake here, to Mobileye’s reputation and to the industry at large. Mobileye believes that achieving this objective requires partnerships that go beyond the typical OEM [original-equipment manufacturer]/supplier relationship, such as our recently announced collaboration with BMW and Intel.”

Mobileye would not say whether it or Tesla decided to end the supply agreement.

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Tesla CEO Elon Musk in a statement said the change was expected, “and will not have any material effect on our plans. Mobileye's ability to evolve its technology is unfortunately negatively affected by having to support hundreds of models from legacy auto companies.”

Only earlier this month Musk tweeted his thanks to Mobileye and Bosch “for their help and support in making Autopilot better.” Bosch makes the radar sensor of Autopilot.


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The break between the two companies comes after a fatal crash in May involving Tesla’s Autopilot that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and National Transportation Safety Board are investigating. The Autopilot system and the driver, Joshua Brown, failed to recognize a tractor trailer that had made a left turn across the highway ahead. Brown’s Tesla Model S drove under the trailer, killing him.

When it disclosed the accident in late June, Tesla said, “neither Autopilot nor the driver noticed the white side of the tractor trailer against a brightly lit sky, so the brake was not applied.”

Mobileye said early this month that its current-generation automatic emergency braking system was not designed to work with a laterally crossing vehicle, though the system should be able to detect such obstacles in 2018.

Consumer Reports has called on Tesla to reprogram the Autosteer feature of Autopilot so that it requires drivers to keep their hands on the steering wheel, and to change the name of Autopilot to reflect the fact that it doesn’t actually drive the car on its own.

Tesla has said that Autopilot makes drivers safer when the system is used correctly. The automaker also has said that drivers are supposed to keep their hands on the wheel.

Mobileye will continue to work with Tesla on current Autopilot product plans. “This includes a significant upgrade of several functions that affect both the ability to respond to crash avoidance and to optimize auto-steering in the near term, without any hardware updates,” Mobileye said.

But that also means Tesla will eventually either have to find another supplier or develop future systems on its own.



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