A California driver, Seneca Musoka, recently recounted a terrifying experience where his Tesla Model 3, while on autopilot mode, veered off the road, accelerated, and crashed. Musoka shared his story on LinkedIn, expressing his shaken faith in the Tesla brand after the near-fatal incident.
During an “ordinary” drive with the car’s autopilot mode engaged, Musoka’s Tesla veered off the road and sped up dramatically before going down an embankment, stopping mere inches from a large tree. Musoka managed to crawl out of the wreck with glass shards embedded in his head and back, along with a bruised sternum and several bruised ribs.
California Highway Patrol officers at the crash scene told Musoka he was lucky to have survived the accident. Reflecting on the incident, Musoka acknowledged the malfunction of the autopilot technology had put his life in the balance.
Despite still thinking that Tesla builds “fantastic” vehicles, Musoka does not recommend using the autopilot feature. His experience comes as Tesla’s autopilot technology is under investigation by the California Attorney General’s Office and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, following customer complaints and concerns raised by Tesla employees about autopilot safety issues.
This incident casts a spotlight on the safety of autonomous driving technology, emphasizing the need for thorough testing and regulation to ensure it doesn’t pose undue risks to users and others on the road.