Driver blames software for Tesla smash
- September 28, 2016
- Posted by: Alan Feldberg
- Category: Industry News
A Florida driver has blamed Tesla’s Autopilot software for a crash which saw her Model S accelerate through the front window of a gym.
The Model S was self-parking outside the gym when it suddenly accelerated, crashing through the glass. No one was hurt in the accident.
Tesla says it has checked the data from the car remotely, and placed the blame on driver error.
This incident follows a similar event in California when a Tesla accelerated suddenly into a wall. The driver blamed the software while Tesla said, according to its logs, it was driver error.
A spokesperson from Tesla commented on the accident saying, ‘Tesla’s cars do not accelerate without the driver instructing it to do so. In every situation where we have received a customer claim about this, the vehicle’s diagnostic logs have confirmed that the acceleration was the result of the driver pressing the accelerator pedal.’
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration claim there are roughly 16,000 crashes in the US alone relating to drivers mistaking the accelerator for the brake pedal.
Earlier this year a 23-year-old Chinese man died when his Tesla Model S collided with a road sweeper. Tesla says it hasn’t been able to verify if its autopilot was system was engaged at the time because of the extent of the damage.
The first fatality in a Tesla Model S occurred on 7 May in America. Joshua Brown died when the software controlling his car failed to spot a white truck crossing the road in front of a bright sky.
