Tesla Model 3 Kills 1 In Freak Accident: Is Autopilot To Blame?

A new incident involving a Tesla Model 3 is once more questioning the safety of its autopilot function.

According to a report, a freak accident which happened last weekend in San Francisco's Tenderloin neighborhood involved a rented 2018 Tesla Model 3 that struck another vehicle and two pedestrians. One of the victims, Benjamin Dean, died from the accident.

The Tesla vehicle was rented via the app Getaround by a 22-year old customer who was said to have run a red light, causing the accident. The driver was later arrested by San Francisco Police District (SFPD) officers.

The accident happened last Sunday at the intersection of Taylor and O’Farrell streets around 2 p.m.The driver, identified as Kelsey Mariah Cambridge, was said to have been speeding along Taylor before running a red light at the intersection. She then hit a Mini Cooper before running over couple Dean (39) and his wife, Kelly. Kelly is currently critically injured.

As part of the investigation, SFPD is now pulling the computer chip of the car to see if it was running on autopilot mode. Tesla’s autopilot feature has been the subject of many investigations for the past few because of various accidents involving the company’s EVs.

One event included the fatal incident which took the life of Apple employee Walter Huang. Wang’s Model X crashed while on autopilot along Highway 101 in Mountain View, California. Aside from autopilot, Tesla’s suspension is also being questioned for safety concerns.

Per a report, suspension problems have been plaguing Musk’s company for years. In fact, some reports found on the internet have labeled the incident as “whompy wheel.”

According to an article, the National Highway Safety Transportation Administration's site has been getting anonymous complaints about broken suspensions. Tesla has also issued a number of technical service bulletins (TSB) through the years which pretty much warned mechanics about possible suspension issues with the Model S and X. Despite this, there has never been a recall of the vehicles.

More than a Tesla “malfunction” authorities are also looking at irregularities of the ride-sharing app, Getaround. Per the company’s guidelines, drivers renting cars under the app must have had a license for two years before being allowed to borrow a vehicle. They also placed a special clause on “specialty” cars like Tesla vehicles which clearly states that drivers should at least be 25 years old before being allowed to rent it.