NewsWorld WORLD – Two men killed in Tesla car crash ‘without driver’ in seat by Barbados Today 19/04/2021 written by Barbados Today Updated by Asminnie Moonsammy 19/04/2021 2 min read A+A- Reset FacebookTwitterLinkedinWhatsappEmail 230 SOURCE: BBC – Two men were killed after a Tesla car crashed into a tree and caught fire in Texas, and police believe there was nobody present in the driver’s seat at the time of the accident. The 2019 Tesla Model S was travelling at a high speed when it failed to negotiate a curve on a winding road. The victims, both in their 50s, were found in the front passenger seat and in the back of the vehicle. Tesla did not respond immediately to the BBC’s request for comment. Evidence suggests that โno-one was driving the vehicle at the time of impact,โ said Mark Herman, Harris County Precinct 4 constable, adding the case was still under investigation. It is unclear whether Tesla’s Autopilot feature was in use. What Tesla calls Autopilot is in fact a semi-autonomous driving system that can guide a car under limited circumstances. A more sophisticated version, called “full self-driving” is due to be released later this year. But in fact, neither of these systems offers full self-driving as you or I might understand. Tesla itself states that the human driver is meant to be fully alert and in control at all times – and has included systems in its cars that are supposed to ensure they keep their hands on the wheel. Yet look on social media, and it isn’t hard to find videos of Tesla drivers asleep at the wheel or even climbing into the back seat. Abuse of the system has been linked with a handful of fatalities. Critics – including the UK car safety research group Thatcham – say the terms Tesla uses to describe what remains a driving assistance system are misleading and encourage this sort of dangerous behaviour. In Germany, the company has already been banned from using the terms “autopilot inclusive” and “full potential for autonomous driving” in its advertising materials. Elon Musk, Teslaโs chief executive, has previously laid out his vision for โfully self-drivingโ cars to be made available this year. But last month, the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration opened investigations into 27 crashes involving Tesla vehicles. In a related incident this Monday, a Tesla owner climbed on top of a car at the Shanghai Auto Show to protest that the “brake lost control”,ย Bloomberg reported. A series of fires have also taken place involving the Model S. In 2018,ย a Tesla car driven by British TV director Michael Morrisย burst into flames, following another such incident involving a Model S model inย France in 2016. Several fires related to Tesla Model S carsย took place in 2013. Barbados Today Stay informed and engaged with our digital news platform. The leading online multimedia news resource in Barbados for news you can trust. You may also like Pic-O-De-Crop Finals moved to CARIFESTA House 22/07/2026 The vulgarity of asking the enslaved to pay 15/07/2026 Gospel artist Karlos Cobham eyes global breakthrough with Avidity nod push 15/07/2026
