The Tesla driver maimed a man. In court, she made excuses for autopilot – SMARTmania.cz

• Two years ago, she hit a pedestrian in suburban Melbourne. She put the blame on the Tesla Model 3’s autopilot
• However, investigators found that it was deactivated at the time of the incident and the driver stepped on the gas after the collision and accelerated to drive away from the scene of the accident
• But on the eve of the trial, she admitted that the autopilot was not responsible for the collision. The verdict on the accused will be handed down on May 10

Tesla’s Autopilot is still a big topic, and various media often focus on individual cases where this technology has caused an accident or not worked as it should. But the latest case shows that sometimes an autonomous assistant can serve more as an excuse for a driver who does not respect the rules. Thanks to the accurate data from the car, the culprit, at least in this case, will most likely not escape from justice.

In March 2022, a white Tesla Model 3 struck nurse Nicole Lagos in suburban Melbourne while boarding a tram. Sakshi Agrawal was behind the wheel and claimed that the autopilot was on at the time of the collision and the victim jumped into the path of the car. The collision took place at a speed of 58 km/h and there were no brake marks at the scene of the accident.

In a 60 km/h speed limit zone, she accelerated to 78 km/h after the collision

However, the investigators found that the autopilot was deactivated at the time of the incident and at the same time the car warned the driver of the danger in the road before the collision. She completed her act by stepping on the gas in the first seconds after the incident and accelerating to 78 km/h in a zone with a speed limit of 60 km/h. Although the 25-year-old driver later returned to the scene of the crime, she sped away in the first moment after the collision.

Although the accused blamed the electric car from Elon Musk’s workshops for two years, on the eve of the trial she admitted her involvement in the accident. The verdict on the accused is to be delivered by judge Peter Rozen on May 10. Given her recent confession, it can be expected that she will be sentenced. In this case, Tesla is not to blame.