Tesla says Model X vehicle in crash that killed Apple engineer Walter Huang was on autopilot
The electric car maker said Walter Huang did not have his hands on the steering wheel for six seconds before the crash, despite several warnings from the vehicle
For more than a decade, Tesla chief executive Elon Musk has been trying to convince the car-buying masses that it’s OK to take our shaky hands off the steering wheel and entrust our lives to a hodgepodge of sensors and algorithms.
But the automaker’s safety reassurances faced another challenge, as a sobering image made its way around the world: a photo of a Tesla Model X SUV, battered and charred and missing two front wheels after a fiery wreck that left a father of two dead.
On Friday the company tried to explain the March 23 crash that killed Walter Huang, an Apple engineer whose electric SUV was on Autopilot mode when it crashed into a median on Highway 101 in Mountain View, California.
In 557 words, Tesla sought to counter that alarming photo, using statistics and figures to argue that an artificially intelligent driver is still safer than a human one.
Still, Tesla had to acknowledge two realities made clear by Huang’s death: autonomous vehicle technology is still in its infancy, and, because no tech is perfect, people in even the most advanced cars will still be involved in fatal crashes.
“In the past, when we have brought up statistical safety points, we have been criticised for doing so, implying that we lack empathy for the tragedy that just occurred,” the company’s statement said. “Nothing could be further from the truth. We care deeply for and feel indebted to those who chose to put their trust in us. However, we must also care about people now and in the future whose lives may be saved if they know that autopilot improves safety.”