Tesla’s Autopilot Involved In One More Fatal Crash, Raising Safety Concerns

On March 1, a 2018 Tesla Model 3 appeared to have struck a semi-trailer truck on State Highway 441, Florida. The 50-year-old owner of Tesla car was killed as a result of the crash, making it the fourth fatal accident involving Tesla’s Autopilot.

Causes of The Crash

National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has made a report about the incident. According to the report, preliminary data from the vehicle showed that Autopilot, an advanced driver-assistance system of Tesla, was active at the time of the crash. Specifically, the collision happened 10 seconds after the driver turned on Autopilot. The report read:

The roof of Tesla car was sheared off as the vehicle struck the left side of the semitrailer, then stopped 1,600 feet away. At the time of the crash, the vehicle was traveling at about 68 mph. The truck’s driver appeared to execute no evasive maneuver.

NTSB said that they were continuing to gather information to find out the exact causes. Factors under the investigation include the combination vehicle, the motor carrier, highway, and survival factors.

Autopilot Involved In At Least Four Accidents

The first fatal accident of Tesla happened in 2016. A Tesla Model S sedan collided with a semi-trailer truck near Gainesville, Florida, which was considered to be the cause leading to the car owner’s death. Another case was reported on March 23, 2018. A Tesla Model X smashed into the safety barrier on US Highway 101, just 6 seconds after the driver got his hands off the steering wheel. The car owner, Wei Huang died as a result. Also in 2016, Yaning, a 23-year-old boy was killed when his Tesla Model S crashed into a road-sweeping truck on a Chinese highway. His family believed that Autopilot was active at that time. Besides these above incidents, there are more non-fatal cases reported to involve Tesla Autopilot, which is the wake-up call to the company.

Has Tesla taken responsibilities?

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has been facing lots of criticisms around his autonomous software Autopilot. He introduced it as a “fully self-driving”, although the drivers are advised to keep their hands on the steering wheel. Commenting on the series of fatal events, Tesla still insisted on the inexperience of the drivers, and the statement behind Autopilot’s assistance. As Musk’s confirmation, Tesla said that the car would be much safer if the driver prepared to take control of it at all times.

Tesla took no responsibility for the accidents caused by Autopilot. Meanwhile, they claimed that Tesla would have a million self-driving taxies on the road in 2020.