Bad accident with Tesla, Musk pays for the damage. But the grain of driving freely still

A car that skids frequently and ends up in a safety barrier at a speed of about 110 km/h. An accident like many others? No, because the car was a Tesla that had been activated to automatically continue in that lane while, as it was discovered after the accident, the driver was not focused on the road as he was interested in playing with his smartphone. Having said this, the unforgivable attitude of Walter Huang, a 38-year-old Apple engineer at the time, should be considered the main reason for the negative impact that occurred in March 2018. In fact, the reconstruction of the accident showed the limits of the software that Tesla offers to its customers (in the USA the cost reaches 12,000 dollars, in Europe the rules are different and the tasks are reduced, with two options of 3,800 and 7,500 euros), restarting the debate on the risk of entrusting someone’s money. semi-autonomous driving life, which replaces the driver’s tasks by combining cameras, GPS, radar and ultrasound.

The necessary premise is that Tesla, like other car manufacturers that are trying to use technological systems to facilitate driving, specifies that whenever Autopilot is activated, the driver must always keep his hands on the steering wheel and his eyes on the road. So that we can intervene if necessary. Thanks precisely to this warning, Elon Musk’s company had so far dismissed the court summons of those who were victims of its driving system. Which in many cases has ended up in the dock, so much so, according to oneanalysis of the Washington Post on data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), from 2019 to June 2023 there were 736 accidents in the United States involving Tesla models in Autopilot mode. Although the significant growth in numbers shows the division of electric vehicles of the Californian company, it is clear that something is wrong: in recent years the NHTSA itself has opened 40 investigations into accidents caused by Tesla’s autonomous operation, which have resulted in the death of 23 people. Also for this reason, at the beginning of the year, the organization had placed on Musk remember in the car factory more than two million.

Unlike previous accidents, Huang’s case is making headlines because it is the first time Tesla has decided to pay for damages. At the moment the figures have not yet been filtered but it is known that the victim’s family accepted the financial offer, which arrived a day before the start of the trial. The first important step is to avoid going to court, even if a trial period is necessary because the agreement must be approved by the California Department of Transportation, a party in the case against Tesla. While waiting for the development, there is a change in Tesla, which fails to take into account what was announced until the complaint filed by the Huang family: “We will not settle the unfair case against us, even if we lose”, it was the message frequently with Musk. The prosecutor’s defense strategy contributed to changing the situation, showing the technical limitations of Autopilot, which according to studies would have a tendency to turn to road dividers, and the role of the company in distributing excessive trust towards autonomous driving, based on resolutions. of its founder.

That’s why Tesla’s lawyers advised Musk to back down and avoid at all costs a case that, in addition to winning results, would attract new criticism. Not only because the example of Huang provided no hazard warning, plus a complete lack of automatic emergency braking. Behind the decision is the difficult time that Tesla is going through, for months it is no longer the leading producer of electric cars in the world after surpassing China Byd, a drop in sales by 8.5% in the first quarter of the year compared to before. twelve months and the stock market worth 80 billion dollars was burned last January. Dark clouds are also gathering over production, with the postponement of the launch of the Model 2, a small car that would expand the segment of buyers, while it is still not clear what the first robot axis will be. Introduce yourself on the 8th of August.

Meanwhile, between the Tesla crack and the X disasters, Musk keeps repeating that in 2025 the roads will be full of self-driving cars. Who knows if he really believes, or is just forced by the market to help his creatures.

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