Double Crash
To this day, Tesla has become one of the most influential companies in the world. With a visionary CEO Elon Musk, the innovative car company has flourished in the last few years, placing a spotlight on the electric vehicle industry. Unfortunately, multiple crashes occurred recently; one in a Tesla car, and one in the share price.
Tesla Autopilot has always been a dream of Elon Musk; in fact, he publicly expressed the idea in 2013. In true Musk fashion, Tesla started implementing the software into their cars and started testing, striving for a semi-autonomous driving experience. Critics have attacked the idea, saying that Tesla’s cars lack the hardware to successfully implement this. Like always, Tesla never gave up, and in October 2020, they released a beta version for a limited number of testers in the United States.
Unfortunately, Sunday night brought terrible news. A fatal crash occurred 30 miles north of Houston, in a 2019 Tesla Model S late in the night. 2 men, ages 59 and 69, were found dead, as the car went uncontrollably fast until it went off the road and crashed. Even worse for Tesla, authorities speculated that the car was on Autopilot mode as the men were sitting in the passenger seat and the rear seat. This hasn’t been the first casualty with Tesla’s Autopilot, but it sparked fresh outrage on the safety of the technology, especially after Musk released a report on Saturday touting its high levels of safety.
Tesla stock did not take the news too well; at its lowest on Monday, it was down approximately 5.32%, as investors feared an increase in regulation. Musk later responded by claiming that the car was never in Autopilot, but no further comments were made. For what Tesla dubbed “the future of driving”, yesterday’s news did not encourage anyone. However, fatal crashes like the one in Houston have happened already, and Tesla has continued to bounce back, leaving this news as a possible overreaction. What do you think? Is Tesla Autopilot in danger, or will Tesla be able to fix it?
I am not a financial advisor and my comments should never be taken as financial advice. Investments come with risk, so always do your research and analysis beforehand.