autoevolution
 

Elon Musk Slams the NTSB for Criticizing Tesla Autopilot Reveal

This past weekend, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said it was unhappy with Tesla for revealing the fact that the Autopilot was engaged in the Model X that crashed last week near Mountain View, California, killing its driver.
Elon Musk 1 photo
Photo: cnbc.com
It didn’t take long for Elon Musk to react, through a reply to a tweet posted by Tesla Motors Club. In the short and concise message, Musk says the NTSB is nothing but an advisory body and not a regulating one, hence it cannot stop the company from publishing safety-related data.

“Lot of respect for NTSB, but NHTSA regulates cars, not NTSB, which is an advisory body. Tesla releases critical crash data affecting public safety immediately & always will. To do otherwise would be unsafe,” Musk said.

Although it found the Autopilot was engaged at the time of the Model X crash, Tesla hints to either the driver or a highway barrier being at fault for the fiery moment.

Judging by the data retrieved from the burned down car, Tesla says the driver had received several visual and audible hands-on warning in the moments leading to the event, but his hands were not detected on the steering wheel for six seconds before to the collision.

Additionally, Tesla claims the severity of the crash was increased by the highway barrier, which had either been removed or crushed in a prior accident without being replaced.

Separately, a test conducted by a Tesla Model X driver showed that the Autopilot feature could potentially fail to detect a pedestrian at night as well, just as in the case with Uber’s fatal accident in Tempe, Arizona.

Uber’s Volvo XC90 did not attempt to stop as it approached the pedestrian, as if not seeing the obstacle entirely. Tesla’s Autopilot did the same and only stopped after the driver pressed the brakes.
If you liked the article, please follow us:  Google News icon Google News Youtube Instagram X (Twitter)
About the author: Daniel Patrascu
Daniel Patrascu profile photo

Daniel loves writing (or so he claims), and he uses this skill to offer readers a "behind the scenes" look at the automotive industry. He also enjoys talking about space exploration and robots, because in his view the only way forward for humanity is away from this planet, in metal bodies.
Full profile

 

Would you like AUTOEVOLUTION to send you notifications?

You will only receive our top stories