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What Next TBD: What's Causing the Tesla Crashes?

Slate Daily Feed

Slate

Business, News, Society & Culture

3.91.1K Ratings

🗓️ 16 November 2021

⏱️ 21 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Last week, a Tesla Model S crashed into a tree in a neighborhood north of Houston. Both men inside the car were killed. But according to police, neither of them was in the driver’s seat. This is not the first crash in which Tesla’s “autopilot” feature has likely played a role. Should we really be trusting this technology? Guest: Missy Cummings, professor of electrical and computer engineering at Duke University Host Lizzie O’Leary Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0

This past Saturday night, a Tesla Model S crashed into a tree in a neighborhood north

0:08.9

of Houston. Both men inside the car were killed.

0:12.6

Fyre crashed and left two men dead. The victims were in a Tesla that burned for four hours.

0:18.8

It's the kind of everyday tragedy that happens all across the country.

0:23.4

But there's something about this crash that's different.

0:26.2

The cars still under investigation, but authorities say they are, quote,

0:29.9

certain, no one was driving the vehicle at the time of impact.

0:37.4

One man was apparently in the front passenger seat, another in the rear.

0:41.7

Now, investigators want to know whether Tesla's autopilot feature played a role in the crash.

0:47.3

Tesla says autopilot is meant to assist drivers with things like braking and steering,

0:51.4

and not to take over. But at least 23 other crashes have some linked the use of this Tesla technology.

0:58.8

Technology that Missy Cummings has been warning about for years.

1:02.8

Do you remember where you were when you heard the news about this latest Tesla crash in Houston?

1:08.3

I was hiking on the Appalachia Trail and, you know, you just kind of hit a peak and then all

1:13.9

of a sudden my phone buzzed. Cummings is a professor at Duke. She runs the Human and Autonomy Lab

1:19.8

there, studying how people interact with automated technology.

1:23.6

And I looked down and it was a friend of mine who reached out to tell me what had happened.

1:29.4

Cummings knew that given her public criticism of autopilot, lots of people, including people like me,

1:35.2

would try to reach her. So she turned her phone off and kept hiking.

1:39.5

I also kind of shook my head and was like, well, I told you so.

1:43.8

And I hate to be one of those people, but I've really been telling people that this was going to

1:48.0

happen for a long time. And so, you know, that's actually why I turned my phone off and kept hiking

...

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