Case study1

CASE STUDYTesla Autopilot Car Crash

TESLA MOTORS, INC.

▪ An American automotive and energy storage company

▪ Designs, manufactures, and sells electric cars, electric vehicle

powertrain components, and battery products

VEHICLES

A full-sized all-

electric

crossover SUV

First deliveries

of the Model X

began in

September 2015

Tesla Model X

A fully electric

luxury sedan

Announced in

a press

release on

June , 2008

Tesla Model S

The first fully

electric car

Gaining

widespread

attention

Tesla Roadster

MODEL SWorld’s best-selling plug-in electric car in 2015

Word’s second best-selling plug-in electric car in history after the Nissan Leaf

In late September 2014, all new Model S were equipped with a camera, allowing vehicles to detect road signs, lane markings, obstacles and other vehicles.

AUTOPILOT SYSTEM

▪ Keep your hands on the steering wheel (advised)

▪ Take your hands off altogether for a moment

▪ After a few seconds, your car will give you a little message

▪ Autopilot will turn off when you grab the wheel

AUTOPILOT CAR CRASH

A driver of a Model S had died in a collision with a tractor-trailer on May 7, 2016, while the vehicle was in self-driving mode.

The driver is believed to be the first person to have died in a self-driven vehicle.

According to NHTSA, the accident occurred because neither Autopilot nor the driver noticed the white side of the tractor-trailer.

OFFICIAL RESPONSE

It acknowledged the problem.

▪ “We learned yesterday evening that NHTSA is opening a preliminary evaluation into the performance of Autopilot during a recent fatal crash that occurred in a Model S.”

▪ “Neither Autopilot nor the driver noticed the white side of the tractor trailer against a brightly lit sky, so the brake was not applied”

It reiterated Autopilot's limitations, and reminded drivers to stay alert,

even with the feature activated.

▪ “It is important to note that Tesla disables Autopilot by default and requires explicit acknowledgement that the system is new technology and still in a public beta phase before it can be enabled.”

▪ “It is not perfect and still requires the driver to remain alert. ”

It emphasized its low rate of accident.

▪ “This is the first known fatality in just over 130 million miles where Autopilot was activated. Among all vehicles in the US, there is a fatality every 94 million miles. Worldwide, there is a fatality approximately every 60 million miles.”

CONCLUSION1. It responded timely and acknowledged the problem;2. It restated the limitations in autopilot;3. By comparing rate of accidents, it successfully

transferred people’s attention to the safety and stability of Tesla cars;

4. Its successful brand image as a tech innovator.