Well-known late-night talk show host James Corden may have accidentally spilled to millions of viewers how to hack a Tesla's autopilot system during a playful exchange with artist Reggie Watts, as reported first by Gizmodo.
LONDON, ENGLAND - JANUARY 04: TV personality James Corden performs the official opening of the stand of the luxury British yacht manufacturer Sunseeker at the London Boat Show at ExCel on January 4, 2014 in London, England. Until the 12th of January the London Boat Show will showcase, demonstrate and sell maritime equipment ranging from luxury yachts to dinghies.
Did Corden Spill His Guts?
Fully autonomous Teslas are a contentious topic, especially since they have a number of drawbacks, the most significant of which is that current self-driving cars can't actually drive themselves, according to Gizmodo.
James Corden addressed the issue during a monologue on The Late Late Show with James Corden after Elon Musk stated earlier this week that he planned to put software for fully autonomous Teslas on the road by the end of the year.
BEIJING, CHINA - OCTOBER 23: (CHINA OUT) Elon Musk, Chairman, CEO and Product Architect of Tesla Motors, addresses a press conference to declare that the Tesla Motors releases v7.0 System in China on a limited basis for its Model S, which will enable self-driving features such as Autosteer for a select group of beta testers on October 23, 2015 in Beijing, China. The v7.0 system includes Autosteer, a new Autopilot feature. While it's not absolutely self-driving and the driver still need to hold the steering wheel and be mindful of road conditions and surrounding traffic when using Autosteer. When set to the new Autosteer mode, graphics on the driver's display will show the path the Model S is following, post the current speed limit and indicate if a car is in front of the Tesla.
Read also: Tesla Autopilot Under Multiple Federal, State Investigations Regarding its System-Why?
Corden brought up the headline and discussed how Reggie Watts, a former Tesla owner, had tricked his Tesla's autopilot into believing he was holding the steering wheel in his hands by using several weights.
"Because you've got to have your hands on the wheel, so what Reggie did was create a weight on both sides of the steering wheel so that the car thought that his hands were on it, and then he would just sit back like 'yeah'," he revealed on his late-night show.
Watts claimed that Tesla's autopilot feature had given drivers a false sense of security while driving, but Corden pointed out that drivers still need to keep their hands on the wheel if the car ever loses control.
Accidentally instructing millions of viewers on how to circumvent the rules intended to keep drivers safe may not be the best route for a talk show host like Corden. Hence, keeping one's hands on the steering wheel is still better just to be safe.
Related Article: Tesla Driver Sleeping While on Autopilot Mode Goes Viral; Here's How To Report If You See One
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Written by Joaquin Victor Tacla
