PALO ALTO, Calif., July 13 (UPI) — Tesla Motors Inc. said one of its self-driving vehicles was involved in a crash, the second since June, but that it has no plans to disable the car’s autopilot feature.
In an interview, CEO Elon Musk told the Wall Street Journal the company will explain in a blog posting how drivers should use the radar-enhanced technology.
His comments came after a crash in Caldwell, Mont., on Sunday, when a Tesla model X swerved and struck wooden guard rails on a two-lane road. The driver, identified only as Pang, told police the car gave him warnings in English, but he speaks only Mandarin . The accident was preceded by a June 7 crash in Florida in which the car’s autopilot system was activated but failed to detect another vehicle in its path. The driver, Joshua Brown, 40, was killed in what is believed to be the first fatality of a self-driving Tesla car.
The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration began an investigation of the Florida accident.
The autopilot feature requires activation by the driver to work, Musk noted in the interview.