Elon Musk Says Autopilot Wasn’t in Use During Tesla Crash, Slams ‘Legacy Media’

Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) CEO Elon Musk has pushed back against coverage of a fatal New York City crash involving a Tesla vehicle, saying the company’s driver-assistance technology was not involved and arguing the crash would not have occurred if Autopilot had been in use.

Elon Musk Says Crash Wouldn’t Happen If Autopilot Was Used

In a series of posts on X on Wednesday, the billionaire responded to a now-deleted ABC News post, accusing the outlet of “misleading the public” about the details of the crash. The crash, which ABC News reported took place at 2:43 a.m. on Wednesday in Manhattan, occurred after a Tesla Model Y crashed into scaffolding.

The car was being driven by 27-year-old Alejandra Paharsingh, who was traveling with her friend, 27-year-old Elise Suomi, who died in the crash.

Paharsingh was injured and taken to the hospital. According to a report by ABC’s New York station, she has been arrested by law enforcement on charges of vehicular manslaughter, leaving the scene of an accident resulting in death and driving while impaired.

Musk, in response to user Reddit Lies on X, denied the involvement of Tesla’s driver assistance technology in the incident. “It wasn’t the car,” the CEO said. He added that if “Autopilot was in use, they [the vehicle] would not have crashed.”

The Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (NASDAQ:SPCX) CEO also called out the media, saying Tesla received unfavorable coverage for its lack of traditional marketing strategies, something for which Musk has received repeated criticism.

“The legacy media will never forgive Tesla for failing to advertise with them,” the Tesla CEO said in the post, but did not provide any further details.

Elon Musk Touts Cybercab

Musk has touted the company’s Cybercab as the beginning of a “golden era” in transportation, saying that the vehicle without a steering wheel and pedals was gold in color to reflect that very change.

However, questions remain about the efficacy of Tesla’s Full Self-Driving (FSD) system, as the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) opened a probe into the cab’s deployment in Austin.

According to Benzinga Edge Rankings, Tesla scores moderately on the Growth and Quality metrics, but offers poor Value and Momentum. TSLA also fails to provide a favorable price trend in the Medium and Long term.

Price Action: TSLA shares slipped 0.52% to $365.89 during overnight trading on Wednesday.

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