“Driverless” Cars are Here (And Unextiquishable Fires & Death)

It took Americans several years to get used to the “horseless carriage” over a hundred and twenty years ago. We’ll see how long it will take to acclimate to the “driverless carriage”.

For the better part of the past decade we’ve heard tales of the eminent coming of the driverless car era. Companies have been testing driverless both on closed tracks and in real-time traffic. You may have even heard about the people who shot a porn scene in a driverless car.

Tesla officially says that the “driverless mode” on their cars is intended for use “only with a fully attentive driver”. The fact that Elon Musk named this feature “Autopilot” certainly might be responsible confusion.

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Two Texas men died after their “driverless” Tesla drove off the road, crashed into a tree and then, because of the high tech Tesla battery”…burned for hours and couldn’t be extinguished even after using 32,000 gallons of water, according to authorities. I had to read that twice myself: the fire continued to burn for hours because the battery kept reigniting, despite efforts to put it out. (I swear this next part is NOT a joke)…”At one point, deputies had to call Tesla to ask them how to put out a fire in one of their batteries”.

Here’s what the car looked like when the fire was eventually extinguished (that is, “there was nothing flammable left to burn”).

According to Spring, Texas Constable Mark Herman police are, “100% certain that no one was in the drivers seat.”

Elon Musk responded to the tragedy by…bragging about the safety of the Tesla’s Autopilot feature?!?

“Tesla with Autopilot engaged now approaching 10 times lower chance of accident than average vehicle”-Elon Musk, CEO/Destroyer of Worlds

It’s statement like that which make it SEEM that Elon Musk is heavily suggesting that a Tesla driver could hop in the backseat and take a nap in complete safety, even if the fine print says you shouldn’t. So, should the deceased men have known not to leave the wheel unattended? Sure…if they read the fine print. If you’re going by what Musk says, though…you’d almost feel crazy for NOT leaving the driving to your unquenchable death trap…er, I mean, “Tesla”.