With Tesla's new Autopilot plan involving proving that the Palo Alto automaker's artificial intelligence can drive safer than humans, the drive of a Model S recently helped build a case for the self-driving "gadgets".
That's the only conclusion you can come to after seeing the Model S accident that took place in the UK earlier this week. A Model S flew about 30 feet through the air, crashing... on top of a Mercedes-Benz E-Class and into the brand's dealership that accommodated the sedan.
Yes, the Tesla actually crashed into the Smart, not the Mercedes-Benz part of the dealership, but the E-Class-involving part of the accident had a special low-emission flavor to it, since it included a 2017 E220d.
We're not sure which part of the Mercedes-Benz accident is weirder - the way in which the 4,608 lbs (2,090 kg) electric machine hit the upper side of the E-Class as if it were a block of ice falling from the roof of a building or the ruined facade of the dealership.
The Tesla Model S in question, a P70 model, crashed close to Hertford's Foxholes roundabout, with the piece of footage below, which shows the aftermath of the accident, revealing plenty of details, right down to the bushes through which the electric sedan "entered" the dealership. As you can imagine, the corporate architecture does involve certain protection measures, but it seems these didn't take flying cars into consideration.
Judging by the airborne trajectory of the car and the damages seen in the clip, the driver wasn't exactly working to preserve his range at the time when the accident took place.
However, we don't know the exact speed of the EV. And while there's no info on what happened to the occupant(s) of the vehicle, we can see the car held its shape well, while the airbags were deployed.
Let the automated driving debate continue...
Update:As hvi mentions in the comment below, the guy behind the wheel of the said Tesla was arrested for drunk driving.
Here's a tweet from the local police assuring us the driver was taken into custody. So, as much as we love driving our cars, we have to admit cases such as this one stand as arguments in favor of letting computers handle the driving.
Assisted in Hertford with a male who lost control of his Tesla, got airborne & landed on top of another car. He was arrested for d/drive.181 pic.twitter.com/yYYniao4k3
In his quest to bring you the most impressive automotive creations, Andrei relies on learning as a superpower. There's quite a bit of room in the garage that is this aficionado's heart, so factory-condition classics and widebody contraptions with turbos poking through the hood can peacefully coexist. Full profile
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