Are Tesla Features Like Smart Summon Proving To Be Too Over The Top?

Of course, this type of behavior gets the media and organizations like the NHTSA involved in a hurry.

By: Steven Loveday

Oct 3, 2019 at 2:18pm ET

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Is it stupidity or actually people who want to show the ins and outs of Tesla tech, in an attempt to expose issues? The latter could potentially be a good thing if it alerts the automaker that changes/updates are needed.

We believe Tesla is already aware of technology quirks and diligently working on constant, incremental upgrades. We have seen that when Tesla owners flock to Twitter to inform CEO Elon Musk about problems, he takes notice in many cases. We've also seen that when a potential issue gets exposed across the internet, Tesla often sends out another over-the-air update with fixes.

As soon as Tesla Smart Summon arrived, you better believe that many owners raced out to take video of "testing" the system. How about summoning your car into your garage and not being careful, then asking Tesla to pay for the repair bill. Or, summoning your Tesla into a live person, hoping they don't get hit! If they do, call Tesla and ask for compensation on medical bills?

Sure, the technology should work as "advertised," but again, Tesla continues to make it clear that these systems are in Beta mode and undergoing continual updates, which is a whole other issue that the media and safety organizations are not happy about. Still, Tesla's expectation is that owners will be smart, make good choices, and remain in control. Funny, however, expectations like that for our society have become a joke in some cases.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has promised to intervene if Smart Summon poses safety risks. Will it intervene to go after those who are abusing it or go after Tesla for releasing it? The latter, of course. But again, the end result could mean improved Tesla tech.

This is really no different than any other release, product, etc. that could be abused by people. Government organizations' job is not to go after the users, but instead, the makers. If the system/product was "safe," it wouldn't matter how people chose to use it, it would only matter that it's idiot-proof, which is surely not something that Tesla's tech features receive praise for.

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At any rate, we've included several video shares below. You can search Twitter and YouTube for a plethora of other Tesla Smart Summon successes and failures: