Tesla Model S With Autopilot Enabled Crashes With Parked Police Car

You would find it a bit difficult to explain yourself if you were to crash your car into a parked police SUV but what if the car did that of its own accord? That’s basically what happened to a Tesla Model S driver in Laguna Beach. The car crashed into a parked police SUV and reportedly had its Autopilot system engaged at that time.

It’s unclear right now what the driver was doing when the collision happened so there’s no way to tell right now if they were distracted behind the wheel. The driver reportedly sustained minor injuries in the collision. Fortunately, no officer was present in the police SUV so only the car sustained some damage.

Autopilot is Tesla’s semi-autonomous driving system that helps with lane changing, adaptive cruise control, steering, and more. While it’s possible to take your hands off the wheels and let the car do its thing, the car will remind users to put their hands back on the wheel if they have left it for extended periods of time. The Autopilot system is disengaged automatically if they let go of the steering wheel for about a minute.

Tesla couldn’t immediately confirm the driver’s claim that the car was in Autopilot but it did say in the statement that it has made it clear time and again to drivers that “Autopilot doesn’t make the car impervious to all accidents.”

Adnan Farooqui
Categories: Transportation
Tags: Autopilot, Social Hit, Tesla