Video: Driverless Tesla rams jet into airport

On Reddit, a video provides plenty of comments. The video shows a Tesla with an apparently empty driver’s seat ramming a Cirrus SF50 Vision minijet standing on the airfield.

Smart Summon

According to a comment on Reddit, the Tesla Model Y ( test report ) apparently driving with an empty driver’s seat used the “Smart Summon” function. This is a remote control function that allows the Tesla owner to have the Tesla drive to them autonomously. Specifically, the Tesla drives to the location of the Tesla owner determined via GPS signal. “Smart Summon” is intended for parking spaces and private properties: The Tesla should then automatically drive out of its parking space and to its waiting owner. With “Smart Summon”, a parked Tesla not only drives itself out of the parking space, but also drives up to 61 meters across the road or around obstacles without a driver. In order to get to its owner, the car even crosses roads that intersect or takes curves. Tesla emphasizes that the owner must always monitor their Tesla visually during the Smart Summon parking and exit and, if necessary, stop using the app.

An expensive jet is in the way

“Smart Summon”, on the other hand, is not intended for runways and parking areas at airports. But in the video, “Smart Summon” is used at an airport: The Tesla drives slowly over the airport field and then rams the rear of the Cirrus SF50. The Vision-Jet is thereby clearly shifted. Towards the end of the video, three men approach the jet, one of whom is believed to have used the “Smart Summon” function via an app. According to motortrend.com, the accident happened at Felts Field Airport (KSFF) near Spokane, Washington. This video shows the accident:

And this photo shows the damage to the jet:

According to a Twitter comment, the owner of the jet and the owner of the Tesla should not be the same:

According to The Verge, the video is believed to have come from a security camera on the airport field. The Cirrus SF50 Vision has one to two pilots and can carry a maximum of seven passengers. The wingspan is 11.70 meters. Wikipedia mentions a price of 1.72 million US dollars, while Reddit mentions a price of 3.5 million dollars. Be that as it may, the Tesla rolling autonomously across the airfield must have caused some damage. But why did the collision happen in the first place? After all, the Tesla should be able to avoid obstacles in a parking lot – but that doesn’t always work in practice. Since the introduction of this function, there have been repeated reports of accidents from the USA: Tesla’s new self-driving feature is causing chaos and accidents.

Presumably, the Tesla’s sensors were unable to detect the plane’s high tail. That’s why the Tesla didn’t “see” the minijet and drove into it.

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