The Tesla Model S was the first 'new age' car involved in a deadly accident.
Despite the drastic accident having occurred on May 7, 2016, on a highway in Florida, USA, the incident was made public through the construction company Tesla. NHTSA, the body responsible for road safety in the US, is under investigation to clearly determine the causes of the accident.According to Tesla, the autopilot system did not detect the truck due to the sun's reflection and therefore did not activate safety braking. The driver also did not apply the car's brakes.
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After crashing violently with the area of the windshield of the truck, the Tesla Model S crashed and ended up colliding with an electricity pole, causing the immediate death of Joshua Brown, a former SEAL (US Navy special force). The manufacturer says the drastic collision happened in “extremely rare circumstances”, as the rear of the truck hit the car's windshield. If, by chance, the collision had been at the front or rear of the Tesla Model S, “the safety system would probably have prevented serious damage, as has happened in numerous other accidents”.
Contrary to what the truck driver claimed, Brown was not watching a movie when an accident occurred. Elon Musk (CEO of Tesla) dismissed the accusation, claiming that no model produced by Tesla has that possibility. After a brief investigation, it was concluded that the deceased driver was listening to an audiobook.
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Once this autopilot function is activated, the system warns that the driver must keep his hands on the steering wheel and that he cannot, under any circumstances, “take his eyes off the road”. Elon Musk, in view of what happened, shared a message of condolences for the accident through Twitter, where he shared a statement defending his car brand.Our condolences for the tragic loss https://t.co/zI2100zEGL
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 30, 2016
Joshua Brown had previously published a video where he avoids colliding with a white truck, and placed the video on his Youtube channel. Joshua Brown was a great supporter of this technology, by misfortune, he ended up being victimized by it.