Amidst the controversy that Tesla is currently facing following a fatal car crash in Florida that occurred last May, another recent accident has put the company in an unfavorable spotlight. The incident occurred Wednesday early morning in a town 40 km (25 miles) south of Amsterdam.
The 53-year old unnamed man died when his Tesla Model S crash into a tree and burst into flames, according to authorities. Tesla's log revealed that the man was travelling at 155 km/hour (96 mph) and the speed was consistent with the car's damage. The log also showed that the autopilot feature was disabled when the accident happened.
Because of Tesla collecting data from its customers, it's able to tell whether or not the Autopilot feature is activated at a certain time. The data gathered is then used by the company to continuously improve the Autopilot function, which is then passed on to customers through over-the-air software updates.
The Silicon Valley-based company has sent a representative to the scene.
"We are working with the authorities to establish the facts of the incident and offer our full cooperation," Tesla said in a statement.
Firefighters did not immediately recover the body as they feared emergency service workers might get electrocuted, according to emergency services spokesman Ronald Boer.
"The car was so badly damaged that the firefighters could not operate its security systems," continued Boer.
The recent accident has further fueled the scrutiny of semi-autonomous cars and if they are indeed as safe as companies claim them to be. It's also called into question the name of the feature - Autopilot - and how it can mislead customers into thinking that Tesla and other vehicles of its kind can autonomously drive.
While the feature does allow people to take their hands off the wheel for minutes, they are instructed to be ready to take control of the vehicle should the situation demands it. However, the controversy does tread on a grey line when situations such as the case of Joshua Neally - a lawyer who suffered from embolism during a drive - is chuck into the debate.
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