- Tesla catches fire again due to a Model 3 exploding after it crashes with a tow truck in Moscow.
- The vehicle was reportedly on Autopilot mode when the accident took place.
A Russian businessman Alexey Tretyakov and his family were inside the car while he was driving his Model 3 on the 9th of August when it hit a tow truck which was servicing a car on the highway near Moscow. As per the report of the local media, he and his two children were extremely injured and have been taken to the hospital.
Recent Update is that Tretyakov has now confirmed said that he suffered a broken leg and his children got bruises, but everyone is otherwise fine somehow. The Model S caught on fire just after the accident and then the explosion took place.
People passing by captured several real-time videos of the fire and following explosions, which stroked while there was heavy traffic around the burning vehicle. From the report of Russian media outlet Zvezda, the police believe that the Tesla Model 3 was on Autopilot mode. Following is a Twitter link that caught the live footage of the accident:
$TSLA – 1/The latest Tesla explosion in Moscow was due to Autopilot
“According to a law enforcement source, Tesla was probably driving autopilot and couldn’t recognize the tow truck in front of her, after which she caught fire”https://t.co/oLe2cUTGRk
— phoenix10 (smartish) (@phoennix10) August 10, 2019
According to another enforcement source, the Tesla was most probably driving on Autopilot and couldn’t figure out the tow truck in front of it, after which it hit the truck. The owner, Tretyakov has also confirmed that he was on Autopilot.
There were past incidents that involved Tesla vehicles while on Autopilot crashing into stalled vehicles on the highway, including a deadly crash with a street sweeper truck back in China in 2016. Tesla requests that drivers should always keep their hands on the steering wheel so that when using Autopilot mode and that they stay ready to take control at any time and situation.
But the automaker insists that it is safer to drive on Autopilot than without and that its cars are not likely to catch on fire than other gas-powered vehicles.
In the latest safety testimony, Tesla proclaimed that there might be a Tesla vehicle fire for every 170 million miles roamed between 2012 and 2018. That has been a tragic incident and hopefully, everyone survived their injuries. From the latest update, it looks like there is nothing too severe.
Talks go on for these kinds of tragedies involving Autopilot, if it was actually on Autopilot, always rise the issue of whether Autopilot makes you more or less careful.
Controversies went on as many people think that it depends on each individual. A user of Tesla said,” For me, it’s helpful. The reduced workload helps me focus on the road ahead, and since I am aware that AP is far from perfect, I am always ready to intervene.”
ELECTRIC CAR EXPLOSION: A family in Moscow, Russia, escaping from a car fire, when their Tesla Model 3 burst into flames, after the car crashed into a parked tow-truck while in driver-assistance mode. @TomLlamasABC reports. #TheIndex https://t.co/OygOWBmxpy pic.twitter.com/GfjiJlKWxN
— World News Tonight (@ABCWorldNews) August 12, 2019
is the link that shows up a TV report of this crash.
Some people are growing way too dependent on the system, as we have evidence of many accidents over the years where the driver had a lot of time to fix the problem but didn’t until it was too late. Although it is not like the same case everywhere everyone should be careful while driving.
