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Elon Musk: Autopilot was not turned on during recent Model X crash

Published Jul 14th, 2016 10:30PM EDT
Teslas Autopilot Software
Image: atomic80

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With eviscerating Tesla’s Autopilot software becoming something of a fad lately, Elon Musk took to Twitter today and shed some light on a recent Model X crash in Pennsylvania. If you recall, a Model X driving along the Pennsylvania Turnpike rammed into a guard rail last week, an incident which then resulted in the car crossing over a few lanes before crashing into a concrete median and rolling onto its roof.  Notably, early reports indicated that the Model X had its Autopilot feature turned on at the time of the crash.

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As it turns out, Autopilot had nothing to do with the crash. According to Musk, the Model X’s logs reveal that the car’s Autopilot software was, in fact, not activated when the accident occurred.

Interestingly, Musk adds that the crash wouldn’t have occurred if Autopilot was turned on.

Musk’s tweet comes at an interesting time for Tesla. Following the May 7 death of a Model S driver who, with Autopilot engaged, crashed into a tractor-trailer, much has been made about the technology, with Consumer Reports just this week arguing that Tesla should disable it completely until it improves.

Tesla, meanwhile, has no intention of doing any such thing. On the contrary, Tesla said that it will be more upfront about the technology’s limitations and will publish a blogpost to that effect shortly. Incidentally, Tesla also makes a point of noting that the incidence of fatalities with Autopilot software engaged is much lower than in cars that don’t have it.

Yoni Heisler Contributing Writer

Yoni Heisler has been writing about Apple and the tech industry at large with over 15 years of experience. A life long expert Mac user and Apple expert, his writing has appeared in Edible Apple, Network World, MacLife, Macworld UK, and TUAW.

When not analyzing the latest happenings with Apple, Yoni enjoys catching Improv shows in Chicago, playing soccer, and cultivating new TV show addictions.