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I know that I have written about the amazing tech packed into Tesla vehicles more than once.  I am willing to admit that I am wowed by the automotive wonders Elon Musk builds - but above that, I'm practical.  Practical as in: I'm not going to buy the next Windows product until it's been around for a while.  I want someone else to work out the bugs before I put my trust in the tech, and that's exactly the way I feel about Tesla's Autopilot.

As cool as it sounds, I just can't shake the feeling that I shouldn't put my safety in the hands of a machine of this complexity just yet.  Near perfect doesn't cut it if I put myself or my loved ones in the loving care of Elon Musk's big metal baby.  The latest lawsuit out of Texas just confirms that I should wait a littler longer.

The autopilot accident in Texas

Back in February of this year, Click 2 Houston reports that a Tesla Model X SUV - driven by the autopilot program - crashed into police who were conducting a traffic stop in Splendora, Texas.  The suit filed on behalf of the officers by the Buzbee Law Firm and Muery & Farrell PC in a Harris County Court claims that the 5 officers involved in the crash were badly injured.  The suit is listing damages in excess of $1,000,000, with maximum damages of $20,000,000.

The problem with autopilot

According to the suit, which you can read in it's entirety here, this accident is part of a larger problem that has been seen in 12 crashes in the U.S. that involve first responders in vehicles with flashing lights.  Tony Buzbee, a lawyer representing the officers, told KRPC 2 that:

Upon research, what we have discovered is, this is happening all over the country. In fact, the government has just recently, talking about in the last 30-60 days, has requested of Tesla to turn over information regarding every crash that has occurred involving the Tesla on autopilot that also involves police officers, because apparently the defect that exists is when the police lights are flashing it makes the Tesla on autopilot not detect the vehicle

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