Tesla confirms that a Model X SUV veered off the road whilst in Autopilot mode
The founder and CEO of Tesla, Elon Musk, has said that they have no plans to disable the autonomous Autopilot system, after admitting that a second crash has been recorded in the US involving the self-driving feature.
According to reports, sometime in the early hours of Sunday morning, a Tesla Model X SUV, which was being driven near Whitehall, in Montana, swerved off the road and into a wooden guardrail.
Tesla have acknowledged that the Autopilot system was on, but said that the driver had not complied with the Autopilot guidelines and did not keep his hands on the wheel.
“No force was detected on the steering wheel for over two minutes after autosteer was engaged.” said Tesla.
Elon Musk has said that the company has no plans to disable the autopilot system and pointed out that many people do not fully understand how to use the function.
The company is believed to be working on the best ways to educate current owners on the Autopilot function.
The Autopilot feature was introduced in October last year and makes use of a mixture of radar, cameras, ultrasonic sensors and data, to automatically steer down motorways, shift lanes and alter its speed in response to traffic. The car can also be parked autonomously.
The system does, however, remind the driver when it is turned on, that Autopilot is: “an assist feature that requires you to keep your hands on the steering wheel at all times.”
The driver must also keep control and is still responsible for their vehicle whilst the autonomous function is on and the system does give out audible reminders to the driver to keep hold of the wheel.
Previously, founder and CEO of Tesla Motors, Elon Musk, said that Autopilot is twice as safe as humans.
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