What A Difference A Word Makes: Tesla Removes 'Autopilot' From Its Chinese Website

A Tesla Motors Inc TSLA driver in China crashed his car in early August while making use of the autopilot feature. While the crash was not fatal, it did mark the first accident involving a self-driving vehicle in the country.

The crash occurred on a highway near the city of Beijing and a video of the incident was posted to Car News China.

The blog also posted a response from Tesla's Chinese unit, who said, "Tesla Autopilot represents the most advanced technology, but that does not mean it has achieved automatic driving, or is able to fully substitute the role and responsibility of the driver."

Despite the official response containing the term autopilot, Tesla's management appears to have decided to no longer use the term, at least in China.

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According to Reuters, Tesla removed the term autopilot as well as the Chinese term "zidong jiashi," which literally translates to "self-driving" from its Chinese website following the minor crash.

"At Tesla we are continuously making improvements, including to translations," a Tesla spokeswoman told Retuers. "We've been in the process of addressing any discrepancies across languages for many weeks. Timing had nothing to do with current events or articles."

Reuters noted that the two terms no longer appeared on the webpage for the Model S sedan by late Sunday. It has since been replaced with a Chinese phrase that translates to "self-assisted driving."

Chinese driving laws dictate that all drivers must keep their hands on the steering wheel at all times.

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