{"id":223550,"date":"2022-04-25T15:10:50","date_gmt":"2022-04-25T19:10:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thedetroitbureau.com\/?p=223550"},"modified":"2022-04-25T15:11:00","modified_gmt":"2022-04-25T19:11:00","slug":"another-day-another-crash-unmanned-tesla-runs-into-3-5-million-jet","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/2022\/04\/another-day-another-crash-unmanned-tesla-runs-into-3-5-million-jet\/","title":{"rendered":"Another Day, Another Crash: Unmanned Tesla Runs into $3.5 Million Jet"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Federal regulators are in the midst of a safety probe involving Tesla\u2019s Autopilot technology, but they may want to begin looking at another one of the automaker\u2019s high-tech systems after video emerged of a crash involving a Tesla Model Y.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Tesla
Another Tesla using semi-autonomous technology hit a vehicle: a jet. <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

The incident, shown in this Reddit video<\/a><\/span><\/strong>, occurred when the vehicle\u2019s owner reportedly activated the electric SUV\u2019s Smart Summon function. As it started moving it ran into the side of a $3.5 million Cirrus Vision Jet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The crash occurred at a relatively low speed, the Summon feature is limited to about 5 miles per hour. Specific details, including damage to both the jet and the Tesla, have not been revealed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tesla tech<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Smart Summon is part of the Full Self Driving software package<\/a><\/span><\/strong> offered by the automaker. It lets an owner use their smartphone app to request the vehicle come to pick them up. By pressing a button on the app, the vehicle will pull out of a parking spot and drive to them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Tesla
Tesla’s Smart Summon is supposed to stop operating when the owner releases the button.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

What\u2019s unclear is why the owner apparently continued to summon the vehicle even after their Model Y hit the jet. The system is supposed to bring the vehicle to an immediate halt when the button is released. Tesla pointedly advises motorists they must pay attention while operating the Smart Summon feature.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But the system also is supposed to detect and respond to obstacles, stop signs and other obstructions on its own.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The video shows the Model Y creeping forward before hitting the left tail of the Cirrus SF50 jet. It doesn\u2019t stop, however, the crossover continuing to push forward until the plane has turned more than 90 degrees. While the video then cuts off, at least one report indicates the Tesla may have continued moving on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why the car hit the aircraft in the first place is unclear, but it\u2019s in line with other problems Tesla has been having with its various Autopilot features. There\u2019s an ongoing investigation by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration<\/a><\/span><\/strong> looking into a series of incidents in which Teslas have crashed into stationary emergency vehicles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Tesla
A Tesla owner activates the Summon feature on his vehicle.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Worries about self-driving technology<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Some experts have raised concerns about whether the automaker\u2019s technology can, at times, miss stationary objects. Complicating matters, the Cirrus was hit in the rear where its tail stood well off the ground and possibly in an area that the Tesla\u2019s sensors ignore.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There have also been concerns about Tesla\u2019s decision to back away from a \u201csensor fusion\u201d approach blending both cameras and radar. As of May 2021, all Model 3 and Model Y vehicles switched to cameras alone. The switch was made with the Models S and X this past February.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So far, there have not been many reports of accidents involving Tesla\u2019s Smart Summon function. The fact that it operates at such a low speed \u2014 and normally halts operation when a driver releases the control button \u2014 would appear to limit damage, even if an incident did occur.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But the fact that this car-plane crash was caught on video could raise more flags about Tesla\u2019s various Full Self Driving technology, even as CEO Elon Musk promises that more sophisticated versions are set to be released.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Another Tesla using an autonomous driving function hit another vehicle \u2014 however, this time it’s a bit different. Find out what happened at TheDetroitBureau.com.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":223576,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[7,8,5,10,12,9],"tags":[5829,5826,386,5828,5827],"make":[],"post-state":[],"category_old":[],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/223550"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=223550"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/223550\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":223579,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/223550\/revisions\/223579"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/223576"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=223550"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=223550"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=223550"},{"taxonomy":"make","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/make?post=223550"},{"taxonomy":"post-state","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/post-state?post=223550"},{"taxonomy":"category_old","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/category_old?post=223550"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}