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Tesla Crashes Against Seven People In England: Was Autopilot Involved?

News of crashes with Autopilot keep emerging as much as those of investigations on the system. When a blue Tesla Model 3 ran over seven people outside the Ardingly College in the UK, some immediately jumped to the conclusion that Autopilot was also involved. However, there is nothing so far to support that conclusion.
Tesla Model 3 8 photos
Photo: Tesla
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According to the Sussex Police, the Tesla Model 3 hit six children and an adult at around 4:30 PM on August 16. One 8-year-old boy had to be transported by air ambulance to St George’s Hospital in London due to severe injuries. Thankfully, none of them is life-threatening. The boy remains in the hospital for treatment.

The six other people affected by the crash were taken to local hospitals to treat minor injuries. The driver, a 47-year-old woman, was in the car and was not harmed. There is no information on what would have caused the wreck, but the Sussex Police expressly asked people not to speculate about the incident. Pictures taken at the site by Eddie Mitchell revealed that the left side of the vehicle was affected and that it run over the children on the internal road of the Ardingly College.

We have already asked them what explanation the driver gave for the trampling and if Autopilot was involved in any way. The Sussex Police Media and Communications Department told us they could just confirm that the driver was in the car. All other information will just be released when the investigation ends.

Whether that was the case or not, the mere suspicion shows that Tesla has a reputation issue with its system that needs to be addressed as soon as possible. If these folks were run over by any other car, most would bet on human error right from the start. Whenever a crash with no logical explanation happens with a Tesla, Autopilot is the main suspect.

A competent PR department would have already identified the issue and tried to fix the software’s reputation. In Tesla’s case, there is no PR department apart from the ones in Norway and China. A quick and transparent reply to such incidents would make for effective damage control. As Sherlock Holmes would say, that’s “elementary, my dear Tesla.”


Source: Sussex Police via Reuters
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About the author: Gustavo Henrique Ruffo
Gustavo Henrique Ruffo profile photo

Motoring writer since 1998, Gustavo wants to write relevant stories about cars and their shift to a sustainable future.
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