Influential consumer magazine urges Tesla to disable Autopilot steering

Washington

CONSUMER Reports magazine on Thursday urged Tesla Motors Inc to disable the automatic steering function on its electric vehicles and change the name of its Autopilot driving-assist system, which is under investigation after a driver was killed while using it.

Consumer Reports, which has eight million subscribers and influences buyer decisions with its annual vehicle ratings, said the Autopilot name promotes "a potentially dangerous assumption" that the vehicle is capable of driving on its own.