The Tesla owner was inside a nearby hangar at the time, apparently going against the company's advice on using the summoning feature safely.
A viral video of a driverless Teslacar slowly crashing into a private jet worth around $3 million has taken the internet by storm. Shared on Reddit, the clip shows the Tesla Model Y steadily approaching the 9.4 metre-long Cirrus Vision jet after the owner of the electric car summoned it using an automated parking feature.
According to New Zealand-based media outlet Stuff, the Reddit user claimed that the incident took place at an event hosted by aircraft manufacturer Cirrus at Felts Field in Spokane, Washington. The user also said that the car owner was using the “Smart Sumon” feature, which enables the vehicle to leave the parking space and navigate around obstacles to its owner.
It is still not clear how much damage the car or plane sustained in the incident. Euronews Next reported that another Reddit user, who claimed to have witnessed the incident first-hand, stated that the electric car owner was inside a nearby hangar at the time, apparently going against the company's advice on using the summoning feature safely.
It is to mention that according to Tesla, the Smart Summon feature is “designed to allow you to move Model Y to your location (using your phone's GPS as a target destination) or to a location of your choice, manoeuvring around and stopping for objects as necessary… You must maintain a clear line of sight between you and Model Y and closely monitor the vehicle and its surroundings at all times.”
Meanwhile, this is not the first time the autopilot feature of Tesla has resulted in a collision. In 2019, shortly after Smart Summon was first rolled out, an influential US magazine Consumer Reports said that Tesla Inc's Smart Summon automated parking system is "glitchy" and only works intermittently. Several users had even posted videos on social media of Tesla vehicles that appeared to have been in near-accidents.