The Autopilot mode allows the Model S sedan and Model X SUV to steer itself within a lane, change lanes and speed up or slow down based on surrounding traffic or the driver’s set speed.
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Meanwhile, Florida Highway Patrol officials have revealed that reports announcing the discovery of a portable DVD player device in the vehicle were accurate. But it does not have the ability to download information from Tesla’s data system, Montes said. She said there was no camera found, mounted on the dash or of any kind, in the wreckage.
UPDATE: According to the truck driver, who was the first to assist the driver of the Tesla on the crash scene, a movie was playing in the vehicle.
“Autopilot is getting better all the time, but it is not ideal and still requires the driver to remain alert”, the Palo Alto, California-based company said in a statement. “But what we have been told is that he saw a Harry Potter video still playing when he got to the scene”.
Tesla said videos could not be watched on the car’s screen.
The disclosure raises further questions about the 7 May crash in Williston, Florida, which occurred after Brown put his Model S into Tesla’s autopilot mode, which is able to control a vehicle while it’s driving on the highway.
The death of the driver of a Tesla equipped with an activated autopilot system comes at an unfortunate time for the development of autonomous cars and will will delay the mainstream arrival of such cars on the roads, experts say.
It is the technology of the future: cars with self-driving capabilities.
In its blog, Tesla noted that the incident will now be investigated by federal safety authorities.
“The Tesla system arrives in the vehicle through overnight software updates with no training offered which is clearly unsafe”.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has opened a preliminary evaluation into the performance of Autopilot in response to the fatal accident. In Washington, the Pentagon confirmed Brown’s work with the SEALs and said he left the service in 2008.
In April, Brown published a video on YouTube crediting the Autopilot feature on the vehicle he dubbed “Tessy” for preventing a collision with a boom lift truck.
However, these were dismissed at first, as one of the people claiming to have heard JK Rowling’s famous series was the driver of the tractor-trailer which the Model S had struck. “It sheared the top of the auto right off”. When a tractor trailer crossed his path (presumably at an intersection) the Model S didn’t apply the brakes – it tried to drive right under the trailer. Tiny electric motors attached to the car’s steering mechanisms move the vehicle back to the center of the lane when it veers. “When I look at the world around me I see what it could be”. The car’s sensor system failed to distinguish between the white of the lorry and the bright sky and did not automatically activate the brakes.
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An FHP report said the crash occurred on a sunny Saturday afternoon.
