You have commented 358 times on Rantburg.

Your Name
Your e-mail (optional)
Website (optional)
My Original Nic        Pic-a-Nic        Sorry. Comments have been closed on this article.
Bold Italic Underline Strike Bullet Blockquote Small Big Link Squish Foto Photo
Submit your comments on this article
Science & Technology
Another Tesla "autopilot" crash and death
2021-05-17
[Hot Air] Almost a month ago we looked at a rather mysterious case of a Tesla Model 3 that may or may not have been on "autopilot" crashing into a tree and killing both of the vehicle’s occupants. Elon Musk came out later and claimed that the car couldn’t have been in autopilot mode at the time of the crash for a number of reasons, though other owners weighed in arguing that might not be the case. That crash is still being investigated, but now yet another incident has taken place.

On May 5th, another Tesla Model 3 was traveling in Fontana, California when it crashed into an overturned tractor-trailer, killing the driver and seriously injuring a person who had been trying to help the truck’s driver escape the vehicle. Authorities originally said this Tesla was also in autopilot mode, but later walked that claim back, saying they didn’t know what mode it was in. But the driver of the Tesla, 35-year-old Steven Michael Hendrickson, was found to have been a member of the Southern California Tesla Club and had regularly posted videos of himself driving the car in autopilot mode. (Associated Press)
Posted by:Besoeker

#7  Could only have been invented in this age. Vehicles exhibit the spirit of their eras I guess. This car apparently doesn't give a flying fcuk where it's going, just revels in its own novelty.
Posted by: Dron66046   2021-05-17 17:56  

#6  Oh, and here's something:

https://twitter.com/Keubiko/status/1394269673529778181

Posted by: Thing From Snowy Mountain   2021-05-17 11:15  

#5  If you strain at enough gnats and swallow enough camels you can pretend to prove how much better your machine is than a human driver.

I think Musk is a toxic person who got lucky with spacex in the early days and then managed to convince everyone else he actually was smart.

Those of us who were arguing about RLV's thirty years ago are kinda sorta frustrated by the cult of personality around the guy.

Silicon Valley wants non-human-driven cars as a social control measure. Nothing more.
Posted by: Thing From Snowy Mountain   2021-05-17 10:41  

#4  Air France and Airbus face manslaughter trial over 2009 ‘pilot error’ crash that killed 228 people including five Brits
Posted by: Skidmark   2021-05-17 10:20  

#3  Still early days for this tech. It'll continue to improve. Human drivers, on the other hand, appear to be getting worse.
Posted by: Angstrom   2021-05-17 10:05  

#2  "Clearly a Covid death"
Posted by: Frank G   2021-05-17 09:55  

#1  "Yessir, the blast wave instantly incinerated everything in a 200 foot radius _but_ according to the last data upload right before the mini-nuclear-fireball, AutoPilot Was Not Engaged. Therefore this was a human-caused crash and only goes to prove how safe AutoPilot is!"
Posted by: Thing From Snowy Mountain   2021-05-17 08:44  

00:00