The Tesla Autopilot Scandal: Revealing The Missing Details
by AutoExpert | 13 December, 2023
The Washington Post's recent article raised concerns about Tesla's Autopilot and Full Self-Driving (FSD) policies, highlighting anecdotal stories of accidents.
Tesla responded, revealing omitted details about an incident where individuals were hit by a Tesla on Autopilot while standing outside their vehicle. The driver was pressing the accelerator, overrode Autopilot, and caused the crash. Tragically, Benavides Leon went away, and Angulo suffered injuries that would change his life forever.
Tesla claims that the driver took full responsibility and, despite being sued by the victims' families, never sued Tesla. The automaker challenges the Post's portrayal, sharing data suggesting that with Autopilot engaged, Tesla cars have a significantly lower accident rate than without.
Tesla's figures indicate a crash every 1.4 million miles without Autopilot and 4.85 million miles with Autopilot, compared to an average of one crash every 652,000 miles, according to NHTSA data. Tesla emphasizes driver responsibility and suggests that the Post highlight driver misuse to blame the system.
While safety remains crucial, Tesla's data implies a notable reduction in crash likelihood with Autopilot engaged, prompting a call for scrutiny across the automotive industry's driver-aid technologies.