Feds Investigating Autopilot Involvement in Tesla Model X Rollover
Tesla’s Autopilot is being blamed for another accident.
According to The Detroit Free Press, a Model X was involved in an accident on the Pennsylvania Turnpike where it hit a guard rail and a concrete median before rolling over. Both occupants in the vehicle survived the accident and the driver claimed that Autopilot was activated when the vehicle crashed. Now the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is investigating the incident, to see what role Autopilot played.
Tesla released a statement saying that it has “no data to suggest that Autopilot was engaged at the time of the incident.” The American automaker went on to say that anytime there is a significant accident, the company receives a crash detection alert that allows them to see if the semi-autonomous driving system was active at the time of the crash.
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“We received an automated alert from this vehicle on July 1 indicating airbag deployment, but logs containing detailed information on the state of the vehicle controls at the time of the collision were never received,” Tesla elaborated in a statement sent to Electrek. “This is consistent with damage of the severity reported in the press, which can cause the antenna to fail. As we do with all crash events, we immediately reached out to the customer to confirm they were ok and offer support but were unable to reach him. We have since attempted to contact the customer three times by phone without success. Based on the information we have now, we have no reason to believe that Autopilot had anything to do with this accident.”
[Source: Detroit Free Press via Electrek]
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Jason Siu began his career in automotive journalism in 2003 with Modified Magazine, a property previously held by VerticalScope. As the West Coast Editor, he played a pivotal role while also extending his expertise to Modified Luxury & Exotics and Modified Mustangs. Beyond his editorial work, Jason authored two notable Cartech books. His tenure at AutoGuide.com saw him immersed in the daily news cycle, yet his passion for hands-on evaluation led him to focus on testing and product reviews, offering well-rounded recommendations to AutoGuide readers. Currently, as the Content Director for VerticalScope, Jason spearheads the content strategy for an array of online publications, a role that has him at the helm of ensuring quality and consistency across the board.
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