Tesla says the vehicle in a fatal California crash was operating on Autopilot, the latest accident to involve self-driving technology.
The automaker says 38-year-old Walter Huang, who was killed in the accident on March 23, did not have his hands on the steering wheel for six seconds before the crash.
But according to Huang’s family, the Mountain View resident complained ‘before’ the accident about the car’s autopilot feature.
Tesla says 38-year-old Walter Huang, who was killed in the accident on March 23, did not have his hands on the steering wheel for six seconds before the crash
His brother, Will, alleged that Walter raised concerns that ‘7-10 times the car would swivel toward that same exact barrier during auto-pilot.
But according to Huang’s family, the Mountain View resident complained ‘before’ the accident about the car’s autopilot feature
He added: ‘Walter took it into dealership addressing the issue, but they couldn’t duplicate it there.’
They shared that Huang’s car would veer toward the same barrier that he fatally hit on Friday, KGO.
Walter had bought the Tesla after getting a new job as an Apple engineer.
‘He was proud,’ said coworker and friend Shawn Price, detailing how Walter would show off his new SUV. ‘He was showing the gull wings, I remember going, a little bit of jealousy, like well.’
Walter had been headed to work at Apple when the crash occurred.
National Transportation Safety Board spokesman Christopher O’Neil shared that they have obtained both the restraint control module and infotainnment module in hopes of finding data that will shed light on the sequence of events.
He also stated that the NTSB was already aware of reports that Walter had taken the vehicle in.
The Apple engineer would assert that the vehicle was veering toward the very same safety barrier (pictured) when he took it into the dealership
Walter had bought the Tesla after getting a new job as an Apple engineer
Tesla says its Autopilot feature, which can keep speed, change lanes and self-park, requires drivers to keep their eyes on the road and hands on the wheel to take control of the vehicle to avoid accidents.
The company shared, in a blog post, that ‘our data shows that Tesla owners have driven this same stretch of highway with Autopilot engaged roughly 85,000 times since Autopilot was first rolled out in 2015. … There are over 200 successful Autopilot trips per day on this exact stretch of road.’
They shared photos of a ‘crash attenuator’ or safety barrier that Walter hit to show that it was not in a stable condition the day before his crash.
‘He was proud,’ said coworker and friend Shawn Price, detailing how Walter would show off his new SUV. ‘He was showing the gull wings, I remember going, a little bit of jealousy, like well’
‘That ultimately should’ve saved my brother’s life. We’ve seen videos of similar crash with cushion and the driver walked out of it unharmed,’ Will Huang added.
Earlier this month, a self-driving Volvo SUV being tested by ride-hailing service Uber struck and killed a pedestrian in Arizona.
Tesla Inc., in a blog post, defended its Autopilot feature, saying that while it doesn’t prevent all accidents, it makes them less likely to occur.