Elon Musk Launches a Manhunt After Alarming Incident
* In the last accident, the driver was using the autopilot feature of his Tesla Model X when it collided with a highway crash barrier
* Elon Musk launched a manhunt with the idea that doing so would ward off any potential threats to his family
He's gone on to found SpaceX and Tesla Motors, not to mention his project OpenAI. In addition, Elon was recently appointed as the CEO of Tesla with the mission of transforming it into a sustainable company with self-driving EVs by 2020. While Elon's goals seem practically impossible and radically ambitious at first glance, given how much work needs to be done, he has been able to pursue these goals through some critical decisions made along his journeys.
Elon Musk, the famous inventor and entrepreneur behind Tesla Motors and SpaceX, has set his eyes on a new venture: a ride-sharing network. According to Bloomberg Business, Musk is planning to make an offer to purchase the ride-hailing startup Uber for USD 3.7 billion by the end of this week. However, Musk has now announced that he's reconsidering the deal after learning about an alarming incident involving an Uber vehicle that ended with a deadly self-driving car accident in Tempe, Arizona.
Early Sunday morning, a self-driving Uber vehicle was involved in a fatal collision with 49-year-old Elaine Herzberg. The victim, who was crossing the road at the time of the accident, died on the spot. Tempe police have confirmed that they are currently investigating the case. However, they have not yet ruled out that it was an accident. While it's too early to know if this was a tragic accident or involved any driver negligence, this incident has raised some concerns regarding Uber's self-driving technology and cars.
Elon, who has taken an interest in artificial intelligence, seemed not bothered by the incident. However, according to Bloomberg's sources, he was later alarmed at hearing about it and has indicated that in the future, he will involve "some of the best minds in AI" that would respond to any legal questions or "other issues."
In response to this incident, Elon Musk has ordered his team at Tesla and public relations firm SpaceX to thoroughly investigate the details surrounding this accident after hearing about the self-driving system of Uber vehicles. The company is yet to confirm if its self-driving system was working correctly at the time of the accident. According to The Verge, Uber was already testing its self-driving technology in Arizona, not too far from the location of this accident.
Meanwhile, Uber is yet to release any information on its self-driving technology, and it remains unclear if its system was at fault. While it's still too early to conclude regarding the cause of this accident, many are already drawing parallels between this incident and the recent fatal Tesla Model X crash in Mountain View.
In the last accident, the driver was using the autopilot feature of his Tesla Model X when it collided with a highway crash barrier. There were also concerns that the vehicle was not handling it well and that the driver might have been paying less attention than he should have. The difference between these two incidents is that the self-driving technology of Uber vehicles is still in its nascent stages. As such, it's far more likely that this was an accident and not a technology failure like in Tesla's case.
