Yikes: Tesla Reveals First Ever Fatal Accident In An ‘Autopiloted’ Car

Automaker Tesla have revealed the death of a Model S driver who was using the car’s Autopilot feature, in what marks the first known fatality of a driver using the system.

In a lengthy blog post, Tesla say the driver – revealed elsewhere as 40-year-old Ohioan man Joshua Brown – was killed after his vehicle collided with a semi-trailer:
“What we know is that the vehicle was on a divided highway with Autopilot engaged when a tractor trailer drove across the highway perpendicular to the Model S.

Neither Autopilot nor the driver noticed the white side of the tractor trailer against a brightly lit sky, so the brake was not applied.

The high ride height of the trailer combined with its positioning across the road and the extremely rare circumstances of the impact caused the Model S to pass under the trailer, with the bottom of the trailer impacting the windshield of the Model S.”
In the same blog post, Tesla wasted no time detailing the safety of the system. They state that in the US, fatal accidents in regular ol’ cars occur about every 150 million kilometres, whereas Brown’s death is the first in 209 million km of Autopilot-on mileage. 
The system isn’t yet totally autonomous, and still requires drivers resume control in some circumstances. Tesla vehicles with the feature also require drivers to keep their hands on the wheel at all times. 
Last year, Brown posted a video showing another near collision that was eventually shared by the company’s founder / god emperor Elon Musk:


Brown was also well-known to Tesla “and the broader EV [electronic vehicle] community, a person who spent his life focused on innovation and the promise of technology and who believed strongly in Tesla’s mission.”


The incident – which, FWIW, occurred in early May despite Tesla only announcing it today – is currently being investigated by the States’ National Highway Transportation Safety Administration.

Source: The Verge / Tesla.
Photo: Craig F. Walker / Getty. 

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