For as long as Tesla has been calling its driver assistance system 'Autopilot' it seems that drivers have been taking it far too literally, and relying on it exclusively to get them from A to B.
Just recently, another Tesla fell victim to a reported autopilot malfunction that saw the white Model 3 slam into a police car that was parked on the side of the highway in America.
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According to a recent report, the incident occurred in Florida, and the Dodge Charger was stopped to help a Mercedes-Benz SUV that had pulled over.
The driver of the Model 3 told officers at the scene that she had enabled the autopilot function just before the collision. Thankfully, no one was injured in the crash.
Images of the aftermath show that the Model 3 lost its right front wheel, and sustained damaged to the same front corner. Impressively, it still came off better than the Dodge.
The police cruiser was significantly damaged down the left side, leaving the rear wheel bent, and the doors rendered useless. The Mercedes SUV didn't escape without significant damage, either.
Just a few weeks ago, a federal investigation was launched by the American government, looking into a spate of incidents that reportedly involved Tesla's autopilot system.
In recent times, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) as identified 11 separate crashes involving emergency vehicles that have been parked alongside a road, and subsequently hit by Tesla vehicles.