Tesla’s New ‘Autopilot’ Is Just the Start of a Critical Reboot

Tesla has always been about pushing full speed toward a tech-tastic future. CEO Elon Musk wouldn’t settle for making a luxurious, sexy, environmentally-friendly electric car. He made one that could hit 60 mph in 3.2 seconds. Then 2.8 seconds. Then 2.5—all the while ratcheting up the range, from the original 265 miles per charge to the current, top of the line 335.

Then, in October, Tesla took what looked like a rare step backward: A year after turning on Autopilot and letting its cars drive themselves (on the highway, and with human supervision), it started selling cars with zero autonomous or active safety capabilities. Drivers had to do all the work themselves, just as if they had bought—gasp—a non-Tesla.