When a stopped Florida Highway patrol car and then a disabled Mercedes SUV were hit by a Tesla early Saturday morning on I-4 in downtown Orlando, the driver told troopers her Autopilot feature in her Tesla Model 3 was on.
The way the automated driving system works is the car stays in its lane, brakes and accelerates to keep up with traffic and avoid other cars using the car’s cameras and radar.
It warns drivers after a few seconds to make sure they’re keeping their hands on the wheel and will turn off autopilot if drivers let go.
Autopilot is supposed to stop the car or move over for all obstacles, including emergency vehicles but the Tesla driver told troopers that early Saturday morning her Tesla did not, even with the patrol car’s red and blue emergency lights flashing.
Now troopers are checking with Tesla.