Tesla Rethinks 'Autopilot' Definition in China After Beijing Crash

Tesla has removed the word "autopilot" from its China website after a driver in Beijing who crashed while the mode was active complained that the company had misled them about its capability (via Reuters).

The accident happened on a commuter highway when the car failed to avoid a vehicle parked on the left side and partially in the roadway, damaging both cars but causing no injuries.

tesla_model_s

Tesla Model S all-electric five-door, luxury liftback (Image: Tesla Motors)

It is the first incident of its kind in China, but follows a fatal crash in Florida earlier this year and highlights a lack of clarity surrounding how automated driving features work.

References to autopilot and the term "zidong jiashi", which also translates as "self-driving", were taken off the company's web page for the Model S sedan by late Sunday, according to a comparison with an archived version of the page. The references have been replaced by a phrase that translates as 'self-assisted driving'.

In an emailed statement to Reuters, a spokeswoman for the company said:

At Tesla we are continuously making improvements, including to translations. We've been in the process of addressing any discrepancies across languages for many weeks. Timing had nothing to do with current events or articles.

In response to the crash, Tesla China staff have reportedly undergone training to re-emphasize that car salespeople must always keep two hands on the wheel when demonstrating the autopilot function.

Other Tesla drivers interviewed by Reuters said China sales staff took their hands off the wheel while demonstrating the function. Under Chinese law, drivers are required to keep two hands on the wheel at all times.

The spokeswoman for Tesla said that the system was not self-driving but merely assistive and that drivers were responsible for always maintaining control of the vehicle. On the Tesla U.S. website, autopilot in the Model S is described as allowing the car "to steer within a lane, change lanes with the simple tap of a turn signal, and manage speed by using active, traffic-aware cruise control".

Digital control of motors, brakes, and steering helps avoid collisions from the front and sides, and prevents the car from wandering off the road. Autopilot also enables your car to scan for a parking space and parallel park on command. And our new Summon feature lets you "call" your car from your phone so it can come greet you at the front door in the morning.

U.S. regulators have yet to issue written regulations for autonomous vehicles, but Apple – heavily rumored to be working on a car project – has already met with California DMV officials regarding self-driving car laws within the state.

Multiple reports indicate that Apple is exploring the functionality with the possibility of including it in a later iteration of its vehicle project, which is said to be overseen by former longtime executive Bob Mansfield, who last served as Senior Vice President of Technologies at the company.

Apple has reportedly recruited hundreds of engineers from the likes of Tesla, Ford, GM, and elsewhere to work on the so-called Apple Car, codenamed "Project Titan" internally, despite CEO Tim Cook's recent refusal to be drawn on the subject. The electric vehicle could be street-ready between 2019 and 2021 according to various reports, with R&D based in Sunnyvale, California.

Tag: Tesla

Popular Stories

iphone 16 pro models 1

Here's How the iPhone 17 Pro Max Will Compare to the iPhone 17 Pro

Saturday July 5, 2025 1:00 pm PDT by
Apple should unveil the iPhone 17 series in September, and there might be one bigger difference between the Pro and Pro Max models this year. As always, the Pro Max model will be larger than the Pro model:iPhone 17 Pro: 6.3-inch display iPhone 17 Pro Max: 6.9-inch displayGiven the Pro Max is physically larger than the Pro, it has more internal space, allowing for a larger battery and...
iPhone 17 Pro in Hand Feature Lowgo

iPhone 17 Pro to Reverse iPhone X Design Decision

Monday July 7, 2025 9:46 am PDT by
Since the iPhone X in 2017, all of Apple's highest-end iPhone models have featured either stainless steel or titanium frames, but it has now been rumored that this design decision will be coming to an end with the iPhone 17 Pro models later this year. In a post on Chinese social media platform Weibo today, the account Instant Digital said that the iPhone 17 Pro models will have an aluminum...
imac video apple feature

Apple Launching These 15+ Products Later This Year

Sunday July 6, 2025 8:05 am PDT by
The calendar has turned to July, meaning that 2025 is now more than half over. And while the summer months are often quiet for Apple, the company still has more than a dozen products coming later this year, according to rumors. Below, we have outlined at least 15 new Apple products that are expected to launch later this year, along with key rumored features for each. iPhone 17 Series iPho...
iOS 26 Feature

Everything New in iOS 26 Beta 3

Monday July 7, 2025 1:20 pm PDT by
Apple is continuing to refine and update iOS 26, and beta three features smaller changes than we saw in beta 2, plus further tweaks to the Liquid Glass design. Apple is gearing up for the next phase of beta testing, and the company has promised that a public beta is set to come out in July. Transparency In some apps like Apple Music, Podcasts, and the App Store, Apple has toned down the...
iPhone Car Key Kia

Here's Which Vehicles Offer iPhone Car Keys

Sunday July 6, 2025 3:03 pm PDT by
In 2020, Apple added a digital car key feature to its Wallet app, allowing users to lock, unlock, and start a compatible vehicle with an iPhone or Apple Watch. The feature is currently offered by select automakers, including Audi, BMW, Hyundai, Kia, Genesis, Mercedes-Benz, Volvo, and a handful of others, and it is set to expand further. Apple has a web page with a list of vehicle models that ...
iPhone 17 Pro in Hand Feature Lowgo

iPhone 17 Pro Coming Soon With These 14 New Features

Friday July 4, 2025 1:05 pm PDT by
Apple's next-generation iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are just over two months away, and there are plenty of rumors about the devices. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models. Latest Rumors These rumors surfaced in June and July:Apple logo repositioned: Apple's logo may have a lower position on the back of the iPhone 17 Pro models, compared to previous...
iphone 17 pro render majin bu

New iPhone 17 Pro Renders Highlight Apple Logo and MagSafe Design Changes

Sunday July 6, 2025 8:43 pm PDT by
New renders today provide the best look yet relocated Apple logo and redesigned MagSafe magnet array of the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max. Image via Majin Bu. Several of the design changes coming to the iPhone 17 Pro model have been rumored for some time, such as the elongated camera bump that spans the full width of the device, with the LiDAR Scanner and flash moving to the right side. ...
iPhone 14 Pro Dynamic Island

iPhone 17 Models Rumored to Feature Redesigned Dynamic Island

Monday July 7, 2025 7:38 am PDT by
iPhone 17 models will feature a redesigned Dynamic Island user interface, according to a post today from Digital Chat Station, an account with more than three million followers on Chinese social media platform Weibo. The account has accurately leaked some information regarding future Apple products in the past. The account did not share any specific details about the alleged changes that are ...
Prime Day 25 Feature Warm Triad

The Best Prime Day Deals on AirPods, iPads, MacBooks, and More

Monday July 7, 2025 10:55 am PDT by
Amazon is back with its annual summertime Prime Day event, lasting for four days from July 8-11, the longest Prime Day yet. As it does every year, Prime Day offers shoppers a huge selection of deals across Amazon's storefront. With the event now underway, we're tracking numerous all-time low prices on Apple gear right now. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with Amazon. When you click a...

Top Rated Comments

ArtOfWarfare Avatar
116 months ago
Remove the word self until it's out of beta. Assisted driving. Elon is to blame for this confusion. It it were Apple they would have been a lot more conservative when talking about it and would have been clear it wasn't self-driving. Elon allowed people to believe this as a marketing tool. It's backfiring now.
If you want to have autopilot, you have to go into the car's settings, read through a short paragraph explaining what it can and can't do, and then hit a button acknowledging you've read it and you want the feature enabled.

If you don't know the limitations, it's because you don't care (you can obviously read or you wouldn't have been able to get through the menus in the first place.)

Autopilot is a perfectly apt phrase. In a plane, autopilot takes over the mundane part of flying - cruising at altitude. In a car, autopilot takes over the mundane part of driving - cruising on the highway.
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
soupcan Avatar
116 months ago
Autopilot, from Wikipedia: An autopilot is a system used to control the trajectory of a vehicle without constant 'hands-on' control by a human operator being required. Autopilots do not replace a human operator, but assist them in controlling the vehicle [...]
Autopilots do not replace a human operator.
Autopilots do not replace a human operator.

What part of this do people not understand? They give a warning every time they activate the system to stay alert at all times, and if you don't do that and subsequently crash because you thought "the system will not crash me" you're the one to blame.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Sonmi451 Avatar
116 months ago
This has nothing to do with Apple.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Mac Fly (film) Avatar
116 months ago
Remove the word self until it's out of beta. Assisted driving. Elon is to blame for this confusion. It it were Apple they would have been a lot more conservative when talking about it and would have been clear it wasn't self-driving. Elon allowed people to believe this as a marketing tool. It's backfiring now.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Reason077 Avatar
116 months ago
Autopilot, from Wikipedia: An autopilot is a system used to control the trajectory of a vehicle without constant 'hands-on' control by a human operator being required. Autopilots do not replace a human operator, but assist them in controlling the vehicle [...]
Autopilots do not replace a human operator.
Autopilots do not replace a human operator.

What part of this do people not understand?
The term "autopilot" is not what's in question here.

It's "zidong jiashi", which translates literally as "self driving".

Tesla do not promote their cars as "self driving" in markets other than China.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Three141 Avatar
116 months ago
A comment on Macrumors when the first crash happened was the best suggestion I saw, change the name to 'driving assistant' many would expect 'auto-pilot' to mean self-driving car which it's not.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)