Tesla Autopilot to Soon Recognize Police and Emergency Vehicles

After a media report arose over the weekend about a Tesla with Autopilot engaged driving an unconscious driver seven miles before the police could stop the vehicle, Musk announced on Twitter that the company is going to add police car, fire truck, and ambulance recognition to the Tesla neural net over the next couple of months. Tesla's autopilot may just be too good that it can be dangerous -- at least, for those who trust the vehicle to man the wheel and fall asleep behind it. It took seven miles for police to stop a Tesla Model S with autopilot engaged whose driver was unconscious after a night out. After the driver and vehicle remained unresponsive to the police lights and sirens, an officer drove in front of the Tesla which prompted the vehicle to slow down.

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In part, it's surprising that an automatic response to police and emergency vehicles wasn't already integrated into the Tesla Autopilot system, but on the other hand, the company didn't expect drivers to trust their vehicle with their lives to get them home. In response to the report, Musk announced Sunday that the company will be "adding police car, fire truck & ambulance to the Tesla neural net in coming months."

This promise came after Musk said he was looking into what happened in California over the weekend in response to a Twitter user suggesting that the company revamp the autopilot to identify if a driver is unconscious or not.

So, we can expect to see two new upgrades to Tesla Autopilot over the next couple of months: a new default Autopilot behaviour that can recognize an unconscious driver and in response slow the vehicle to a stop if necessary, and a feature that allows Tesla Autopilot to recognize police and emergency vehicles and respond accordingly.