Barely a week after it emerged that Tesla’s Autopilot system played a role in a fatal Model S crash, an owner of the latest Model X has asserted that his Autopilot system caused his car to crash in Pennsylvania.
Last week, the car was involved in an incident on the Pennsylvania Turnpike after hitting a guard rail before rebounding into the median barrier and flipping onto its roof, Freep reported.
The driver, Albert Scaglione, a well-known local art dealer, was hospitalized alongside his son-in-law following the crash before both were soon released after treatment.
Tesla meanwhile is refusing to accept blame for the crash, claiming in a statement that it has been unable to find any evidence if Autopilot was or wasn’t activated, due to the antenna being damaged in the crash.
“We received an automated alert from this vehicle on July 1 indicating air bag deployment, but logs containing detailed information on the state of the vehicle controls at the time of the collision were never received. This is consistent with damage of the severity reported in the press, which can cause the antenna to fail,” the electric automaker said.
While the investigation continues, this is undoubtedly another PR blow for Tesla and its autonomous driving technologies.
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