To the Point

First Fatal Collision for Tesla's Autopilot Feature

Some 30 thousand people die in car collisions each year in the U.S. But a single fatal collision this May is suddenly getting special attention. It was the first time that a driver using the Tesla Model S “Auto-pilot” feature died on the road.

By Barbara Bogaev • Jul 1, 2016 • 1 min read

Some 30 thousand people die in car collisions each year in the U.S. But a single fatal collision this May is suddenly getting special attention. It was the first time that a driver using the Tesla Model S “Auto-pilot” feature died on the road.

In other words it was the first fatal crash involving a car using semi-autonomous technology that is still being tested. It didn’t come as a complete surprise to industry watchers who’ve warned for months that Tesla drivers were abusing the autopilot feature. Alex Davies was part of that chorus, he’s the editor of WIRED’s transportation section.

Photo: Tesla Model S (Wikicommons)

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To the Point

First Fatal Collision for Tesla's Autopilot Feature

Some 30 thousand people die in car collisions each year in the U.S. But a single fatal collision this May is suddenly getting special attention. It was the first time that a driver using the Tesla Model S “Auto-pilot” feature died on the road.

Share

To the Point

First Fatal Collision for Tesla's Autopilot Feature

Some 30 thousand people die in car collisions each year in the U.S. But a single fatal collision this May is suddenly getting special attention. It was the first time that a driver using the Tesla Model S “Auto-pilot” feature died on the road.

Share