Guest essay by Eric Worrall

A Tesla on autopilot crashed into the roof of an overturned truck in Taiwan on Monday, prompting concern about Tesla autopilot’s ability to recognise visually confusing obstacles.

Watch an oblivious Tesla Model 3 smash into an overturned truck on a highway ‘while under Autopilot’

Driver braked but it was too late

TUE 2 JUN 2020 // 01:07 UTC

Video A Tesla Model 3 plowed straight into the roof of an overturned truck lying across a highway in Taiwan, sparking fears the driver trusted the car’s Autopilot a little too much.

The smash occurred on Monday at 0640 local time (2240 UTC) and the drivers of both vehicles were unharmed according to Taiwan’s Liberty Times. You can see the accident for yourself below:

The prang reminds us of a previous case where a 40-year-old man was beheaded after his Tesla Model S, while in Autopilot mode, hit a white 18-wheeler tractor trailer in 2016.

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Read more: https://www.theregister.com/2020/06/02/tesla_car_crash/

To the credit of Tesla’s safety technology the driver survived a high speed collision with a truck.