Tesla Model S Rams Stationary Fire Truck - Driver Blames Autopilot

A Tesla Model S traveling at 65 mph crashed into a stationary fire truck at Interstate 405 on Monday morning. The driver of the vehicle, who was reportedly unharmed by the accident, allegedly claimed that the electric car was on Autopilot when the collision happened.

Authorities who responded to the scene stated that the driver smashed into the fire truck around 8:30 a.m. local time. While the California Highway Patrol and Culver City Fire Department has confirmed the general details of the incident, authorities explained that they could not confirm if the Tesla Model S had indeed been on Autopilot when it crashed into the stationary truck.

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Car4life1 - 1/23/2018 1:18:09 PM

+3 Boost

Tesla, call big brother Benz whom manufacturers the transmission stalk, windows/trunk controls in your cars and ask them how they've managed to sell 5 times the number of vehicles with autonomous features as you and have managed to keep the vehicles/general public out of harms way and headlines

Hauerg - 1/26/2018 2:38:32 PM

+1 Boost

@ car4life1
Utter bullshit!
I am now into my 3rd Mercedes. The current one with the 9 gear auto is a decent car. But if I had stopped using my brain because of AEB and stuff, I would have crashed 2 of those 3.
And the 3rd has only 2990km on it (and a rather nervous radar).
So when in doubt, blame the driver.

And if this idiot really blamed it on AP (which we do not know) he should lose his drivers license.

Hauerg - 1/26/2018 2:40:31 PM

+1 Boost

Which he would not had if he had crashed @ 65mph.

mre30 - 1/23/2018 2:20:35 PM

+4 Boost

I think one of the most surprising things that will come of Tesla's "post-mortem" when all is said and done, and the company either vaporizes or is absorbed into another company, is how completely ordinary and 'off-the-shelf' Tesla's underlying engineering will be found to have been.

I think most of Tesla's "success-factors" come from its cool design (call it "fashion" or call it "trendy") that wraps the components of the electrical architecture in a pleasing package.

For example, The NYC Tesla Showroom (in the Meat Packing district) now has a Model 3 on display. I will never own one, but it was worth it to see in person because it is beautiful in its own way and clearly well-designed (in a consumer-product kind of way). Its like a cool cell phone or a nice hairdryer or electric shaver. I think most of its appeal stems from its construction as a clever appliance.

These auto-pilot crashes should be alarming on many levels but I think the bottom line is that there is a huge disconnect between how Tesla positions its engineering prowess and how good the underlying engineering actually is.

mre30 - 1/23/2018 2:21:52 PM

+2 Boost

It might be 'sales-puffery' pure and simple.

TheSteve - 1/23/2018 4:29:02 PM

+2 Boost

Of course it must be the AutoPilot. We know human error doesn't exist. I look forward to learning what the system logs say.

TomM - 1/23/2018 5:04:05 PM

0 Boost

OH Come On Steve - we already know that this wasn't even a Tesla - it was something that looks like one!