Tesla driver says Autopilot not to blame for car crash
Published 10:31 pm Monday, July 17, 2017
DETROIT — A Tesla driver said his car’s partially self-driving Autopilot system wasn’t responsible for a crash in Minnesota, despite what he initially told investigators.
In its police report obtained by The Associated Press on Monday, the Kandiyohi County Sheriff’s Office said David Clark, 58, blamed Autopilot for a crash Saturday evening in Hawick.
According to a press release, Clark initially told deputies that when he engaged the Autopilot feature, the car suddenly accelerated, left the roadway and overturned in a marsh. Clark and his passengers sustained minor injuries.
But in an email sent Monday afternoon to the Sheriff’s Office, Clark said he was confused in the moments after the crash. After discussing the crash with his fellow passengers, he now believes that he disengaged Autopilot by stepping on the accelerator before the crash.