Trust in autonomous vehicles: The case of Tesla Autopilot and Summon

Abstract

Autonomous driving is on the horizon. Vehicles with partially automated driving capabilities are already in the market. Before the widespread adoption however, human factors issues regarding automated driving need to be addressed. One of the key issues is how much drivers trust in automated driving systems and how they calibrate their trust and reliance based on their experience. In this paper, we report the results of a survey conducted with Tesla drivers about their experiences with two advanced driver assistance systems, Autopilot and Summon. We found that drivers have high levels of trust in Autopilot and Summon. Trust decreased with age for Autopilot but not for Summon. Drivers who experienced unexpected behaviors from their vehicles reported lower levels of trust in Autopilot. Over time, trust in these systems increased regardless of experience. Additionally, trust was correlated with several attitudinal and behavioral factors such as frequency of use, self-rated knowledge about these systems, and ease of learning. These findings highlight the importance of trust in real world use of autonomous cars. Also, the results suggest that previous findings on trust in automation are applicable to real world cases as well.