You’ve probably heard about Tesla‘s autopilot feature, and perhaps not in the best way – it’s basically a guided driving mode which theoretically will keep your car inbetween the lines without you dedicating 100% of your attention to it. It’s not quite driverless: you need to keep your hands on the wheel at all times. Tesla admitted there has been at least one fatality from people misusing the feature.
Now, a Texas man says that his Tesla Model S, while in autopilot mode, sent him off the road, smashing into a guardrail and bloodying his nose. He admits he wasn’t paying full attention – the autopilot had successfully navigated this route before, and he was leaning over to get a cloth out of his glovebox when the collision occurred.
“I used Autopilot all the time on that stretch of the highway,” Mark Molthan, 44, told Bloomberg.
“But now I feel like this is extremely dangerous. It gives you a false sense of security. I’m not ready to be a test pilot. It missed the curve and drove straight into the guardrail. The car didn’t stop – it actually continued to accelerate after the first impact into the guardrail.”
Although Molthan probably won’t sue, his insurer might. It has sent Tesla a request for a joint inspection of the vehicle, which it says is totally lost. As you can see from the photo, it’s not looking amazing.
It’s yet another incident which reveals that perhaps we’re not quite ready as a society for driverless car tech. Keep your hands on the wheel, people.
Source: Bloomberg.
Photo: Bloomberg.
