Tesla Motors Inc (TSLA) Autopilot Crash – Model S Was Speeding

2

According to emerging reports, the Tesla Motors Inc (TSLA) Model S that crashed while it was in “autopilot mode” in May 2016 was speeding. The incident occurred in Florida. A report by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) found that the vehicle was travelling at 74 MPH in a 65 MPH zone.

The official report reads “Tesla system performance data downloaded from the car indicated that vehicle speed just prior to impact was 74 mph. System performance data also revealed that the driver was operating the car using the advanced driver assistance features Traffic-Aware Cruise Control and Autosteer lane-keeping assistance. The car was also equipped with automatic emergency braking that is designed to automatically apply the brakes to reduce the severity of or assist in avoiding frontal collisions.”Tesla Motors Inc

It should be noted that this report issued by the National Transportation Safety Board is preliminary. Tesla Motors Inc’s autopilot system doesn’t control the speed of the car. Therefore, drivers are able to speed while in autopilot at their own discretion. Tesla has repeatedly urged drivers to keep their hands on the steering wheel, even when in autopilot mode.

In an article recently published on AutoBlog, the Chinese government has banned the testing of autonomous driving technology on public highways. Specifically, the post said “Automotive News Europe reports that China is banning autonomous vehicle testing on the country’s highways until the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and the police release new regulations on the tech. There’s no timeline on when the government will publish its new rules, the head of the ministry’s auto department told ANE during a recent forum in Beijing.”

As trading ceased on the 07/26/2016, Tesla Motors Inc was down by 0.22%, trading at $229.51, giving Tesla a market cap of $34.65 billion.