A Tesla Model was intentionally driven over a cliff for a 250-300 drop but all four people survived. There were two adults and two children in the car.
After investigating into Tuesday morning, speaking to witnesses and putting together evidence at the scene, the CHP (California Highway Patrol) said “investigators developed probable cause to believe this incident was an intentional act.”
The driver was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder and child abuse.
The CHP added that at this stage they do not think the Telsa’s self-drive feature was a factor in the crash.
“There has been no determination as to what driving mode the Tesla was in; however, that does not appear to be a contributing factor in this incident,” it said.
Patel is still at Stanford Hospital, however, he will be booked at San Mateo County Jail once he is discharged.
I used US, UK government and insurance data to show Tesla is already safer and why we should expect more safety from Autopilot and FSD. I also provided context about where and how accidents and deaths occur with cars.
Are Tesla cars safer and have they saved lives ? Spoiler Yes.
Has Tesla Autopilot saved lives? Again Yes. but I will provide data.
Is FSD beta safe? Yes,
Is Autopilot safe? How many lives would you expect to save by superior automatic lane keeping? 20-30% of traffic deaths.
Will Full FSD be safer? Yes, and safety score can help ensure it will be.
Can Safety Scoring, Insurance and FSD get more optimal usage of FSD? Yes.
All Tesla’s come with safety features expected to reduce accidents by 30-50% (NHTSA analysis of those features)
Youtube videos by FSD beta users show large improvement over last 13 months. No major accidents or deaths using FSD beta with 100k-285k users over 13 months.
Just keeping lanes, preventing rear ending and avoiding pedestrians is something that can prevent 60% (over 20k deaths in the US alone) of driving-related deaths. 800,000 deaths globally and 30 million injuries per year if global fleet was just preventing those three things.
Insurance and government statistics in US and UK show Tesla’s are among the safest cars involved in the fewest accidents. About 40% below average in US. Very Low accidents involvement in UK (10 times less than Toyota, Ford and several others of number per 10,000 cars).
Tesla is willing to charge 30-60% less for those with good Tesla Safety Scores. Can motivate 60% safer driving and lower accidents. Safety Scores with Real-Time Insurance pricing can motivate safer driving
Safety Scoring could be adjusted to ensure FSD monitoring behavior after FSD is fully released for general usage.
Brian Wang is a Futurist Thought Leader and a popular Science blogger with 1 million readers per month. His blog Nextbigfuture.com is ranked #1 Science News Blog. It covers many disruptive technology and trends including Space, Robotics, Artificial Intelligence, Medicine, Anti-aging Biotechnology, and Nanotechnology.
Known for identifying cutting edge technologies, he is currently a Co-Founder of a startup and fundraiser for high potential early-stage companies. He is the Head of Research for Allocations for deep technology investments and an Angel Investor at Space Angels.
A frequent speaker at corporations, he has been a TEDx speaker, a Singularity University speaker and guest at numerous interviews for radio and podcasts. He is open to public speaking and advising engagements.
