Fiery Tesla Crash Likely Caused By Misuse, Not By Autopilot
The Claim
A deadly Tesla crash in Texas was caused by the autopilot feature.
News posted on
Emerging story
On April 16, two Spring, Texas men were killed when they crashed their Tesla. Firefighters battled the flames around the engulfed wreck for almost four hours. Officials reported the following day that no one was driving the Tesla: one passenger was in the back seat and the other was wearing their seatbelt in the front passenger seat. This caused immediate speculation that the two men were using the experimental autopilot feature on their Tesla, which caused the fatal accident.
Twitter user @WholeMarsBlog claimed that autopilot could not have been activated because there are no lines on the road where the crash occurred.
Misbar’s Analysis
Teslas have been documented to be able to drive when no lane lines are present, as shown in this video, and they can navigate around curves without lines, as is shown here. There is some debate as to whether or not autopilot can be engaged without lane lines, as would have been the case here. Another Twitter user, @mliebow, responded with a recording of himself using autopilot in his own Tesla. In the video he is able to engage autopilot on a street with no lines, but he cannot do so from the passenger seat as it requires the brake pedal to be pressed. The owner of the Tesla that crashed was found in the back seat, which means quick maneuvering would have been necessary as the car crashed “a few hundred yards down the road.”
Users are worried that autopilot is inherently dangerous and that it cannot be trusted. While the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is still investigating 23 crashes involving Teslas, they have not concluded whether autopilot was a factor.
Critics in this case are assuming the crash occurred because no one was in the driver’s seat and the autopilot system was engaged. According to Tesla, “Autopilot is a hands-on driver assistance system that is intended to be used only with a fully attentive driver. It does not turn a Tesla into a self-driving car nor does it make a car autonomous.” A review from WIRED states that Tesla autopilot consistently reminds the operator of the vehicle that you must remain in the driver’s seat and be fully aware of what is going on. Elon Musk himself responded to one Twitter user, encouraging his assessment:
Musk outright states that the car’s data logs revealed no use of Autopilot and the car did not have “FSD,” or Full Self Driving. Teslas are known to be sending and recording massive amounts of data. Musk’s explanation comes from that collection. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board are still investigating the crash.
