Tesla Motors’ CEO Elon Musk took to Twitter to complain about the latest Tesla Crash in Utah making it on the front page with the driver having only a broken ankle. Musk claims the media is focusing so much on the accident because the car’s controversial Autopilot mode was on at the moment of the impact.
Last week, a female Tesla driver rammed into the rear end of a stationary fire department truck. Investigators found from the woman that the Autopilot was on when the accident occurred. The driver’s life was saved by the vehicle’s airbag system, but she ended up with a broken ankle.
Musk insists that the Autopilot is perfectly safe, but drivers are usually at fault. In the latest crash, the woman was reportedly behind the wheel but talking on the phone. Tesla advises drivers to keep both hands on the wheel and eyes on the road when the car is in semi-autonomous mode.
It Is Unclear Whether Car’s Autopilot was at Fault
The Autopilot feature was rolled out in 2014 for a select number of Tesla cars. Now, it comes with every new car. The electric vehicle car maker insists that the Autopilot has helped reduce car crash rates by a whopping 40%.
It remains unclear if the latest crash was caused by a faulty Autopilot. Tesla replied to a request for comment, saying that it hasn’t received any data from the car’s log to know the cause.
South Jordan police sided with Tesla on the need for drivers to stay alert and be in control of the car permanently, even when the Autopilot is switched on.
Tesla makes it clear that drivers should always watch the road in front of them and be prepared to take corrective actions,
a statement from the police department reads.
Tesla cars now have a black-box-like system, but the log does not include Autopilot data.
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