Photo: Dean C. Smith on Twitter
For all intents and purposes, 2018 was a bad year for Tesla when it comes to its safety record. For various reasons, Tesla cars crashed in fiery ways across the U.S., leaving many to wonder how safe is this Autopilot technology in particular and how safe are electric cars in general.
One of the worst crashes of 2018 took place in late March in California. At that time, a Model X SUV being driven on Autopilot hit a concrete barrier, was sent back into the incoming traffic and got hit by another two cars. A fire then broke out, completely destroying the car. The driver of the Model X, Walter Huang, was killed.
The crash caught the attention of both media and local authorities, who scrambled to find the culprit through either endless debates or investigations.
On its part, Tesla first blamed the highway barrier for the severity of the accident. The barrier had been crushed in a prior accident without being replaced, thus contributing to the tragic events of that day.
Later, the blame was placed on Huang himself, who despite “a clear day with several hundred feet of visibility ahead” and the multiple warnings coming from the car, “was not paying attention to the road.”
This week, Huang’s family announced it is taking both Tesla and the State of California Department of Transportation to court in a wrongful death action filed with the California Superior Court.
The man’s family is blaming Tesla's Autopilot for having caused the crash by misreading lane lines and failing to detect the concrete barrier. In fact, there’s a whole list of accusations brought against the carmaker and its tech, ranging from failure to warn to false advertising.
On its part, the Department of Transportation is accused of having failed to fit a crash attenuator guard on the barrier after it had been damaged in a previous crash.
“Mrs. Huang lost her husband, and two children lost their father because Tesla is beta testing its Autopilot software on live drivers,” said in a statement cited by Tech Crunch Mark Fong, one of the family's lawyers.
The crash caught the attention of both media and local authorities, who scrambled to find the culprit through either endless debates or investigations.
On its part, Tesla first blamed the highway barrier for the severity of the accident. The barrier had been crushed in a prior accident without being replaced, thus contributing to the tragic events of that day.
Later, the blame was placed on Huang himself, who despite “a clear day with several hundred feet of visibility ahead” and the multiple warnings coming from the car, “was not paying attention to the road.”
This week, Huang’s family announced it is taking both Tesla and the State of California Department of Transportation to court in a wrongful death action filed with the California Superior Court.
The man’s family is blaming Tesla's Autopilot for having caused the crash by misreading lane lines and failing to detect the concrete barrier. In fact, there’s a whole list of accusations brought against the carmaker and its tech, ranging from failure to warn to false advertising.
On its part, the Department of Transportation is accused of having failed to fit a crash attenuator guard on the barrier after it had been damaged in a previous crash.
“Mrs. Huang lost her husband, and two children lost their father because Tesla is beta testing its Autopilot software on live drivers,” said in a statement cited by Tech Crunch Mark Fong, one of the family's lawyers.
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