Tesla Model S hits police SUV while in Autopilot mode

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Tesla Model S hits police SUV while in Autopilot mode

Are drivers placing too much faith in Tesla's Autopilot feature?

What just happened? There’s been yet another crash involving a Tesla vehicle that was in Autopilot mode.

This time, a Model S driver hit a parked police SUV in Laguna Beach, California.

While the driver of the vehicle sustained minor injuries, the cruiser was unoccupied at the time of the accident.

Sgt Jim Cota, the public information officer for the Laguna Beach police department who tweeted about the incident, told The Guardian that the SUV was a “complete total loss,” and that the Tesla’s front end was “pretty beat up.”

“It [the SUV] was mangled up pretty good. It took out the whole back end and halfway through the canter part of the vehicle. There’s axle damage. It wouldn’t be worth repairing,” he said.

This is the latest crash involving a Tesla where the Autopilot feature was engaged, and marks the third time this year that one of the vehicles has hit a stationary emergency vehicle while in Autopilot mode.

A driver in China is thought to have been the first person killed while using Autopilot, back in January 2016. In June that same year, Joshua Brown was the first person in the US to die while using the feature.

A Model X hit a highway divider while in Autopilot mode in March, killing driver Walter Huang. Tesla said its own investigation showed Huang kept his hands off the wheel despite the vehicle’s warnings.

NHTSA and the National Transportation Safety Board continue to investigate the case.

Last week, Tesla settled a class-action lawsuit brought by six Model S and Model X owners who alleged that the Autopilot system was “essentially unusable and demonstrably dangerous.” Tesla's settlement didn’t mention the safety allegations but was instead paid out to compensate owners over the delayed Autopilot updates.

A Tesla spokesperson said: “When using autopilot, drivers are continuously reminded of their responsibility to keep their hands on the wheel and maintain control of the vehicle at all times.

“Tesla has always been clear that autopilot doesn’t make the car impervious to all accidents, and before a driver can use autopilot, they must accept a dialogue box which states that ‘autopilot is designed for use on highways that have a centre divider and clear lane markings’.”

Failing to detect stopped vehicles is a known problem for makers of cars with autonomous features.

Tesla’s manual warns: “Traffic-Aware Cruise Control cannot detect all objects and may not brake/decelerate for stationary vehicles or objects, especially in situations when you are driving over 50mph (80kmh) and in situations where a vehicle you are following moves out of your driving path and a stationary vehicle or object is in front of you.”

But some owners continue to leave the driver’s seat when it is activated, including a UK man who was caught on video sitting in the passenger seat while his Tesla did the driving.

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