Scenario: Undocumented immigrant family in Minneapolis get in their Tesla car to go to work, school or shopping. The doors lock and are disabled via software OTA. Because they are not mechanical, the family can’t open the doors. They try to roll down a window, but that too is software controlled. The buttons do nothing. They are trapped.
The car then disables the steering colums via OTA software so the wheel goes limp. It is a drive by wire steering with no mechanical, rack and pinion physical link for the driver to control.
The cars autodrive engages and sends the trapped family to an ICE detention facility.
Is there any design feature stopping this from from hapening today?
Their sales would take a massive hit the first time they tried it. (Not that Musk seems to care much about his brand image these days.)
I’m not so sure there is anybody that doesn’t already consider Tesla a toxic brand besides people who would approve of this scenario and assume it could never happen to them.
Agreed. But as I understand it, it is possible today. If their dream of full autodrive and market domination comes true, then you wouldn’t even have a choice in the matter.
Could be a near future where the undesirables take an autocab.