Tesla says crashed vehicle had been on autopilot prior to accident

Monday, 2 April 2018 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Rescue workers attend the scene where a Tesla electric SUV crashed into a barrier on U.S. Highway 101 in Mountain View, California, - REUTERS

Reuters: Tesla Inc. said on Friday (30 March) that vehicle logs from last week’s fatal accident of a Tesla Model X in California showed that the autopilot had been engaged prior to the crash.

Tesla said that the autopilot was on with adaptive cruise control follow-distance set to minimum.

The company also said no action had been taken by the driver, who had a 5-second view of the concrete divider.

“The driver had received several visual and one audible hands-on warning earlier in the drive and the driver’s hands were not detected on the wheel for six seconds prior to the collision,” Tesla said. The fatal crash and vehicle fire of the Tesla Model X near Mountain View, California, last week involved two other cars. Tesla vehicles have a system called Autopilot that handles some driving tasks. The 38-year-old Tesla driver died at a nearby hospital shortly after the crash.