Deadly Tesla crash exposes confusion over automated driving

A Tesla Model S electric vehicle is shown in San Francisco, California, U.S., April 7, 2016. How much do we really know about what so-called self-driving vehicles can and cannot do? The fatal traffic accident involving a Tesla Motors car that crashed while using its Autopilot feature offers a stark reminder that such drivers are in uncharted territory--and of the steep cost of that uncertainty. The sensor systems that enable Tesla's hands-free driving are the result of decades of advances in computer vision and machine learning. Yet the failure of Autopilot -- built into 70,000 Tesla vehicles worldwide since October 2014 -- to help avoid the May 7 collision that killed the car's sole occupant demonstrates how far the technology has to go before fully autonomous vehicles can truly arrive.