TESLA MOTORS, INC.
▪ An American automotive and energy storage company
▪ Designs, manufactures, and sells electric cars, electric vehicle
powertrain components, and battery products
VEHICLES
A full-sized all-
electric
crossover SUV
First deliveries
of the Model X
began in
September 2015
Tesla Model X
A fully electric
luxury sedan
Announced in
a press
release on
June , 2008
Tesla Model S
The first fully
electric car
Gaining
widespread
attention
Tesla Roadster
MODEL SWorld’s best-selling plug-in electric car in 2015
Word’s second best-selling plug-in electric car in history after the Nissan Leaf
In late September 2014, all new Model S were equipped with a camera, allowing vehicles to detect road signs, lane markings, obstacles and other vehicles.
AUTOPILOT SYSTEM
▪ Keep your hands on the steering wheel (advised)
▪ Take your hands off altogether for a moment
▪ After a few seconds, your car will give you a little message
▪ Autopilot will turn off when you grab the wheel
AUTOPILOT CAR CRASH
A driver of a Model S had died in a collision with a tractor-trailer on May 7, 2016, while the vehicle was in self-driving mode.
The driver is believed to be the first person to have died in a self-driven vehicle.
According to NHTSA, the accident occurred because neither Autopilot nor the driver noticed the white side of the tractor-trailer.
OFFICIAL RESPONSE
It acknowledged the problem.
▪ “We learned yesterday evening that NHTSA is opening a preliminary evaluation into the performance of Autopilot during a recent fatal crash that occurred in a Model S.”
▪ “Neither Autopilot nor the driver noticed the white side of the tractor trailer against a brightly lit sky, so the brake was not applied”
It reiterated Autopilot's limitations, and reminded drivers to stay alert,
even with the feature activated.
▪ “It is important to note that Tesla disables Autopilot by default and requires explicit acknowledgement that the system is new technology and still in a public beta phase before it can be enabled.”
▪ “It is not perfect and still requires the driver to remain alert. ”
It emphasized its low rate of accident.
▪ “This is the first known fatality in just over 130 million miles where Autopilot was activated. Among all vehicles in the US, there is a fatality every 94 million miles. Worldwide, there is a fatality approximately every 60 million miles.”