![]() Before Autopilot can be used, drivers have to acknowledge that the system is an "assist feature" that requires a driver to keep both hands on the wheel at all time. Tesla said in a statement that this was the first known death in over 130 million miles of Autopilot operation. Brown died at the scene.īy the time firefighters arrived, the wreckage of the Tesla - with its roof sheared off completely - had come to rest in a nearby yard hundreds of feet from the crash site, assistant chief Danny Wallace of the Williston Fire Department told the AP. Preliminary reports indicated the crash occurred when Baressi's rig turned left in front of Brown's Tesla at an intersection of a divided highway southwest of Gainesville, Florida, where there was no traffic light, NHTSA said. Tesla founder Elon Musk expressed condolences in a tweet late Thursday. Tesla didn't identify Brown but described him in a statement as "a friend to Tesla and the broader EV (electric vehicle) community, a person who spent his life focused on innovation and the promise of technology and who believed strongly in Tesla's mission." It stressed the uncertainty about its new system, saying drivers must manually enable it: "Autopilot is getting better all the time, but it is not perfect and still requires the driver to remain alert." The family hopes "information learned from this tragedy will trigger further innovation which enhances the safety of everyone on the roadways." In a statement released Friday, Brown's family noted his "passion for technological advancement" and said they are cooperating with the investigation. "Hands down the best car I have ever owned and use it to its full extent," Brown wrote. He published a video of the incident online. Brown was an enthusiastic booster of his 2015 Tesla Model S and in April praised the Autopilot system for avoiding a crash when a commercial truck swerved into his lane on an interstate.
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