California based electric vehicles designer and producer, Tesla Motors Inc, has had an action packed year so far. In the first quarter of 2016 (Q1), on the 31/03/2016, Tesla unveiled its new EV, called the Model 3.
Furthermore, there has been a few incidents which have raised concerns over the safety of Tesla Motors Inc’s autopilot system. A few of their electric vehicles have crashed, causing 1 fatality. The driver of the Model S who crashed in May 2016 in Florida died after his Tesla collided with a truck. Elon Musk, CEO of the car maker, has previously blamed drivers for not using the autopilot system properly. An investigation recently found that the driver was speeding when the crash occurred, nearly 10 MPH over the speed limit.
According to an article recently published on The New York Times, Tesla has blamed its “crash-prevention system” for failing, but has insisted that its autopilot system worked as expected, with no faults. The article reads “Tesla Motors has told Senate investigators that its crash-prevention system failed to work properly in a fatal crash, but said its Autopilot technology was not at fault, according to a Senate staff member. Instead, Tesla told members of the Senate Commerce Committee staff on Thursday that the problem involved the car’s automatic braking system, said the staff member, who spoke on condition of anonymity.”
Tesla Motors Inc’s autopilot system is still being used by many drivers in the USA and other countries, and crashes (with the system activated) are rare. As the market closed on the 29/07/2016 a share of Tesla Motors Inc was up by 1.81%, valued at $234.79, giving the company a market cap of $34.57 billion.