tesla crash

Driver Blames Tesla’s Poor Autopilot Mechanism on Crash in Beijing

"Tesla’s autopilot detection system is awful"

China’s first crash involving a Tesla Model S car on autopilot occurred last week in Beijing, prompting its driver to claim the vehicle’s self-driving feature is “awful”.

The collision occurred on the city’s North Fifth Ring Road when the Tesla struck a black Santana that had broken down in the emergency lane. No one was injured.

The driver, Luo Zhen, said the Tesla’s autopilot feature failed to recognize the Santana and collided with it. He said he saw the Santana a full five seconds before the crash, but with his hands off the wheel he did not take action, expecting the car to do so.

Luo thinks Tesla should be responsible for paying half of the 50,000 yuan required to repair his damaged car.

tesla crash

“Tesla’s autopilot detection system is awful. The vehicle [the Santana] was large enough. The time for the autopilot to react was also long enough, at least five seconds,” said Luo.

In publicizing his story on Weibo, Luo criticized Tesla for dedicating such a small section of its manual to warn users that the autopilot is only an assistance driving system. However, Tesla’s manual clearly states that users should not to remove their hands from the steering wheel during operation. With no new laws governing self-driving cars in China, all drivers are still required by law to keep both hands on the wheel at all times.

This past May, 40-year-old Joshua Brown of Ohio was killed when his Tesla Model S collided with an 18-wheeler truck near Williston, Florida.

Charles Liu

The Nanfang's Senior Editor