Tesla in Autopilot mode crashes into parked police car as Elon Musk's firm faces continued scrutiny

A Tesla sedan in Autopilot mode crashed into a police cruiser in Laguna Beach
Police Sgt. Jim Cota says the officer wasn’t in the car during the crash Tuesday
The police SUV ended up with its two passenger-side wheels on a sidewalk
Tesla’s semi-autonomous Autopilot mode has come under scrutiny following other recent crashes

By Associated Press and Michelle Ganney For Dailymail.com

Published: 22:10 BST, 29 May 2018 | Updated: 03:10 BST, 30 May 2018

Authorities say a Tesla sedan in Autopilot mode has crashed into a parked police cruiser in Laguna Beach, Southern California.

Police Sgt. Jim Cota says the officer was not in the cruiser during the crash Tuesday in Laguna Beach. He says the Tesla driver suffered minor injuries.

The police SUV ended up with its two passenger-side wheels on a sidewalk.

Authorities say a Tesla sedan in Autopilot mode has crashed into a parked police cruiser in Laguna Beach, Southern California

Tesla’s semi-autonomous Autopilot mode has come under scrutiny following other recent crashes.

The carmaker says the function is not designed to avoid a collision and warns drivers not to rely on it entirely.

On Thursday another incident was reported involving a semi-autonomous car in Utah.

A police report of the incident says the electric Tesla Model S was on semi-autonomous Autopilot mode when it sped up from 55 mph (89 kph) to 60 mph (97 kph) in just 3.5 seconds before it hit a truck.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who issued a scathing attack on media credibility yesterday, has been vocal against those who criticize Tesla cars, despite growing concern about their safety.

Police understand the Tesla was initially travelling at 55 mph (89 kph) to match the speed of another vehicle that may have changed lane, according to a report seen by Associated Press.

Police Sgt. Jim Cota says the officer was not in the cruiser during the crash Tuesday in Laguna Beach. He says the Tesla driver suffered minor injuries

It is thought the car then automatically sped up to its preset of 60 mph (97 kph) without noticing the stopped cars ahead of it.

Data shows the time elapsed just before the Telsa plowed into the firetruck was just 3.5 seconds.

The driver of the car Heather Lommatzsch, 29, told police she thought the vehicle’s automatic emergency braking system would detect traffic and stop before it hit another vehicle.

Lommatzsch said the car did not provide any audio or visual warnings before colliding with the firetruck which happened on on May 11 on the Utah highway.

She had been driving 80 seconds in Autopilot before the crash.

Tesla says on its website the Autpilot function is designed ‘to detect objects that the car may impact and applies the brakes accordingly.’