This is an important question to ask people. Why?
Because it was my sense when riding in or driving my cousins Tesla S that I was driving in an Apple Computer like a Mac book Pro with 4 wheels and I kept asking myself: "What do I do if the computer crashes which causes the car to crash?"
I didn't have a good answer to this question. Basically, in riding in a Tesla S on one level the driver is optional. In other words you can (as long as you are driving above I believe it might be 15 mph) you can have the car drive itself and it will. (like the guy who was recently pulled over for having his feet out the window of the car).
I remember my PC's crashing between 1985 and around 2005 crashing all the time. It wasn't fatal because they weren't driving my car with me and my family in it.
It is now High Status to be driving a Tesla S (or any other Tesla car) and I understand this is the height of technology and status at this point sort of like riding in a Cadillac or Rolls Royce was in the 1950s. And on one level it is dramatically reducing gasoline and diesel prices all over the world so it is also helping poorer people be afford to drive their own cars and even to be able to ride a bus worldwide as well.
So, many people drive Teslas and Priuses and the like because of this.
However, because I actually understand just how vulnerable people are in these types of vehicles (especially Teslas) which are literally the first generation of self driving cars along with many others now I shy away from owning or renting one simply because I do not feel safe driving in any computer driving the 4 wheels I'm riding in. (At least not every day). So, driving in a Tesla I realize I'm taking a risk sort of the same kind of risk if I get into a small plane that can take 6 passengers or less.
As long as you realize you are stepping into a "Small Plane" when you get into a Tesla "risk wise" then I suppose you are a wise risk taker.
But then if you are getting into a Boeing 737 passenger plane with 100 or more people on board that is 6 times safer than driving in a car. So, it is all relative I suppose isn't it regarding risk?
For example, I am told that the steering is not mechanical in a Tesla. So, it is like in a giant passenger plane with no real mechanical linkage at all to the wheels (or in the case of a passenger plane no real mechanical linkage between the pilot and ANY surface controls like Ailerons or rudder or tail in any way mechanically. So, if the computer fails your steering goes too just like in a passenger plane if the electrical system fails you are all dead pretty soon. In other words the only thing between your steering wheel and the wheels of the car is a computer that hopefully steers the way you steer. I prefer steering linkage and gears so I actually can feel the road. Also, you cannot coast on a Tesla ever. Because whenever you take your foot off the power pedal on the floor it starts slowing down and by slowing down generating electricity. For me, this would be and is so upsetting I likely would be in Cruise control all the time because coasting (especially downhill) is one of my most favorite things to do in a vehicle with my foot completely off all pedals. Why? Because I'm not usually burning any gas at all while coasting.
Hopefully, at least the emergency brake is mechanical on a Tesla so you have some hope of surviving a bad situation!
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