Tesla Reports First Known Autopilot Crash in China

Tesla’s Autopilot technology has once again come into the spotlight for the wrong reasons after a new crash in China. In Beijing, a Tesla Model S hit a parked vehicle while in Autopilot mode, marking the first known accident in China involving the semi-autonomous driving feature.

After reviewing data from the car, Tesla confirmed the car was indeed operating on Autopilot. But it also says the driver’s hands weren’t on the steering wheel at the time of the accident. Fortunately, no one was injured.

“The driver of the Tesla, whose hands were not detected on the steering wheel, did not steer to avoid the parked car and instead scraped against its side,” a Tesla spokeswoman told Reuters. The automaker reiterated that the car tells drivers to keep their hands on the steering wheel even when the autosteer feature is on. Tesla also said drivers should “be prepared to take over at any time.”

The driver of the Model S, 33-year-old programmer Luo Zhen, has spoken up about the incident. Not only has he placed the blame on Autopilot, he also said Tesla’s sales staff suggested the car was a full-on “self-driving” car. In interviews with Reuters, four other Tesla owners in China supported his claims. And Tesla’s Chinese portal apparently makes liberal use of the term “zidong jiashi,”which translates to “self-driving.”

It’s also important to note that Luo admits he was looking at either his phone or the navigation screen at the time of the Autopilot crash. But at the end of the day, he blames Tesla for using an “immature technology as a sales and promotion tactic,” something which Tesla is denying.

“We have never described autopilot as an autonomous technology or a ‘self-driving car,’ and any third-party descriptions to this effect are not accurate,” the Tesla spokeswoman told Reuters.

Tesla has received criticism for its Autopilot system ever since a fatal Tesla Model S crash in May. Government regulators are investigating the accident, which was reported as the first semi-autonomous car death on record.

Source: Reuters

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