Tesla is seeking to hire Autopilot test drivers in Austin — and each the brand new positions and the situation have interesting implications.
Over the previous couple of years, Tesla has been criticized for not reporting autonomous test mileage in California.
The California DMV makes corporations who’re testing autonomous vehicles within the state submit yearly “disengagement reports” to release details about every time their autonomous test vehicles needed to be disengaged.
In its report back in 2016, Tesla reported having 4 self-driving Model X prototypes driving just over 500 autonomous miles on public roads. As we reported based on sources, the mileage was mainly for producing video demonstrations of what they may do with their newly launched hardware suite on the time.
Since then, Tesla hasn’t submitted any autonomous test miles in California for its vehicles until earlier this yr, and again, it was to supply a video demonstration.
To elucidate the shortage of autonomous mile reporting, Tesla claims to mainly be testing its autonomous driving technology in “shadow mode” on its existing fleet and at other locations than California public roads, which enables them to not log those miles with the DMV.
It has never been clear where, apart from California, Tesla is testing its Autopilot and self-driving system prototype.
Now we learn that Tesla is seeking to hire several “Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) Test Operators.”
ADAS generally check with level 2 driver-assist features, like Autopilot’s Autosteer and Traffic-Aware Cruise Control, but within the job description, Tesla also mentioned that the individuals will likely be testing “autonomous vehicles”:
We’re in search of a highly motivated individual to speed up our vehicle-level testing for autonomous vehicles. The ADAS Test Operator will help drive Tesla’s Autopilot by testing each day Autopilot firmware updates on an area, predetermined route, to permit tracking of improvements across firmware revisions. The role requires someone highly organized, objectively focused when making judgements, and assured of their ability to administer their very own each day routine.
Interestingly, Tesla is listing positions for ADAS test drivers in each the Bay Area and in Austin.
Austin is within the news loads lately in relation to Tesla since Electrek reported that it has been chosen for Tesla’s next factory within the US, but Tesla already has operations in the town with its Autopilot hardware team being based there.
Electrek’s Take
To be fair, I don’t think it’s massive news, however it provides interesting insights into Autopilot testing, which we didn’t think much about beyond the “shadow mode” claims.
I believe Tesla also gets across the reporting rules by probably not testing their mode advanced Autopilot software as a “self-driving system,” but as a driver-assist system that also requires hands on the steering wheel.
What do you’re thinking that? Tell us within the comment section below.