It was only a couple of hours after the accident and a bold statement was already making its rounds at the Egyptian media. Another Tesla has shrunk, and this time, it required the lives of two individuals from Texas. Facing queries from journalists eager for some clarity concerning what occurred in the tragic incident, Harris County Pct. 4: Constable Mark Herman shared with a surprisingly confident and bold statement: there was no one at the ill-fated Model S’ driver seat when it crashed.
“They are 100% certain that nobody was at the driver seat driving that vehicle in the time of impact. They are positive. And again, the height from the back seat into front seat, that would be almost impossible, but again our researchers are trained. They handle accidents. A number of our people are reconstructionists, however they feel very confident only with the positioning of their bodies after the effect that there was no one driving that vehicle,” Herman stated , also noticing that the electric auto ’s flame was out of control for four months.
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This statement, in addition to the headlines that followed it, have since been proven false. And now they stay as an excellent case study how misinformation spreads, and how the truth — even though it eventually emerges from legitimate sources — becomes largely ignored. This is the narrative of a Model S crash, hurried statements, and how overall ignorance of electric vehicles could lead to a large misinformation nightmare.
But to get a comprehensive view of the particular story, one must return to that fateful night on April 17, 2021, when two men, a 59-year-old Tesla owner along with his 69-year-old passenger, died following travel only about 550 feet, before departing the road on a curve, even driving over a curb, hitting on a drainage culvert along with a raised manhole, and smashing into a tree. The automobile was ablaze following its own crash.
The location where the accident occurred. (Credit: NTSB)
The Accident
Because it’s with other Tesla crashes, then the Model S crash in Texas immediately caught the attention of national media. It didn’t take long before even foreign outlets were running with the story. It was during this initial wave of media attention that Constable Mark Herman noted that researchers were 100% convinced that there was no one driving the car when it crashed. This statement was golden to many media outlets, with a few such as the New York Post post a tweet noting that the ill-fated Tesla was on Autopilot. It’s pertinent to note that the Constable never said Autopilot, though his statement declaring that there was no one from the driver’s seat seemed like a strong enough link to the driver-assist suite.
Shortly, even associations such as Consumer Reports joined the fray, graciously demonstrating that Autopilot could indeed be “fooled” into functioning without a human in the driver’s seat. Consumer Reports‘ walkthrough was comprehensive, showing audiences exactly what needs to be done to conquer Autopilot’s safety steps . This stunt caught the eye of the domestic and worldwide media too, and from that time, the narrative was put: Teslas can drive themselves without a driver, and Autopilot could kill. It’s ’s a chilling thought, but it is one that seemed to be casually supported by Ford CEO Jim Farley, who headed Consumer Reports‘ Autopilot overcome apparatus walkthrough on his private Twitter page.
This does not mean to state the narrative surrounding the fatal Model S crash in Texas has been siphoned, however. Only days after the initial crash, Palmer Buck, fire chief for The Woodlands Township Fire Department, advised the Houston Chronicle that contrary to some reports in the media, the unlucky Model S was not ablaze for four hours. The fire chief also said that firefighters didn’t call Tesla for help, and he was unaware of any hotlines for tips about how best to control a battery firing.
Opinion: Consumer Reports’ Tesla Autopilot stunt crossed a line in an already-heated EV climate
The First Cracks — And A Persistent Misunderstanding
Interestingly enoughConstable Herman himself seemed less convinced about his information later on, noting in an announcement to Reuters that his researchers were “almost 99.9% sure” that there was no one at the driver’s seat of this ill-fated car. This was Herman noting that they had executed a search warrant on Tesla to procure data about the horrible incident. Meanwhile, Elon Musk went Twitter to state that data logs showed that the unfortunate vehicle was not on Autopilot as it crashed.
Tesla’s online network took it upon themselves to make awareness of this situation, which seemed to possess red flags all over the place. The Constable’s statements seemed premature at best, and reports about the automobile ’s fire had been proven false by the fire chief. Couple this with Elon Musk noting that Autopilot was not involved, and it was no real surprise that the crash became a topic for analysis and conversations among Tesla supporters. All these attempts, however, were largely disregarded if not contested, with media outlets such as VICE stating that the behaviour of their Tesla sleuths was akin to people who believe in conspiracy theories.
“Rather than waiting to the two separate federal government investigating the crash to release their findings, a few Tesla owners are engaging in the traditional behaviour of conspiracy theorists and amateur internet sleuths in a clear attempt to throw doubt on even the simplest facts surrounding the crash,” ” the book mentioned.
More cracks concerning the initial “Autopilot crash” narrative emerged during the company’s Q1 2021 earnings call. Lars Moravy, Tesla’s vice president of automobile engineering, said that the business had conducted evaluations with researchers, and they’ve ascertained that Autosteer wasn’t able to be participated in the region. He also said that judging from the space of the vehicle from the owner’s home into the crash site, that the Model S could have only accelerated to 30 miles before covering the entire 550-foot distance utilizing Adaptive Cruise Control. This is undoubtedly a clarification about the incident, but like many things in this story, this was also misunderstood.
Not long after Tesla’s Q1 2021 earnings call, CBS released a piece titled “At Least One Tesla Autopilot Feature Was Active During Texas Crash That Killed two . ” It’s certainly a catchy headline and one that was certain to draw a decent quantity of eyes. There was only one issue: the whole premise of this article was false. To add salt into the wound, Texas Rep. Kevin Brady shared with the CBS piece on Twitter, noting that “Despite early claims by (Tesla along with Elon Musk), Autopilot WAS participated in (the) tragic crash at The Woodlands. We are in need of answers. ”
Despite early claims by #Tesla #ElonMusk, autopilot WAS participated in tragic crash at The Woodlands.
We are in need of answers. https://t.co/e3TQTRv72Z
— Rep. Kevin Brady (@RepKevinBrady) April 28, 2021
A Grassroots Movement
In a universe where misinformation is more widespread from media outlets that may or might not be incentivized to release reports that are entirely accurate, citizen journalism has the potential to eventually become the voice of reason. And in the instance of this Tesla Texas crash, that was certainly the case. After conversations with resources, some of whom have chosen to remain anonymous, so Teslarati could suspect that it was the efforts of regular men and women, from electric vehicle advocates and space fans who were inspired by Elon Musk’s SpaceX, which could have ultimately helped capture the ideal information concerning the episode to the ideal location.
Days after the incident, and a couple of weeks prior to the release of the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) preliminary accounts, @GoGundam1, a Texas-based SpaceX urge, sensed alert bells in his mind after Constable Herman declared that he was 100% sure there was no one at the driver’s seat of this ill-fated Model S. Having become acquainted with Elon Musk’so companies, the SpaceX enthusiast was also knowledgeable about Tesla and its products, which left the Constable’s announcements appear disingenuous at best. Annoyed by the clearly false story that was being shaped, the distance urge sent out a few feelers to test out the waters.
The story that emerged was very impressive. Information gathered by citizen informants indicated that by April 22, Constable Herman’s office had been already in possession of video evidence that has been in direct contradiction to this narrative that was originally presented to the media. It was a disturbing thought, but informants also proposed that the office of the Constable had goals to take a seat on the data for as long as you can. Grantedthese incidents may seem like they came out of the storyline of a semi-decent movie, but considering that the relative silence from the Constable following his announcements about a search warrant being filed to Tesla, it does look like the motives for a followup record clarifying the incident weren’t really there.
Pertinent information about this Tesla Texas crash, however precious, could be next to useless if it didn’t capture the attention of the ideal entities. And thus, with the data gathered, the SpaceX enthusiast made a decision to reach out to members of their Tesla community for support. It was a challenging undertaking, but eventually, @LordPente, a longtime Tesla urge, made a decision to give a hand. After many messages to other members of this Tesla community, the longtime EV urge appeared to have reached a breakthrough by (seemingly) reaching somebody at Tesla. The SpaceX enthusiast, for his part, didn’t get in contact with Tesla but managed to send out a report on the NTSB, tipping off the bureau about the additional video proof in the Constable’s office.
During Teslarati’s conversation with the informant and the Tesla urge, both noted that they weren’t really positive if their information reached the appropriate entities. But, something occurred not long and indicated that it did.
The remains of this ill-fated Tesla Model S (Credit: NTSB)
The Lie Unravels
On May 10, 2021, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) released its preliminary accounts concerning the Tesla Model S’ fatal Texas crash. According to the NTSB’therefore accounts, “footage from the proprietor ’s home security camera shows the owner entering the car’s driver’s seat and the passenger entering the front passenger seat. ” Apart from that, the NTSB also noted that evaluations of a similar vehicle in the crash location revealed that Autopilot couldn’t be engaged in the region, just as Tesla and the electric vehicle community indicated amidst the initial wave of “Autopilot crash” reports. The investigation is ongoing, needless to say, but according to what the NTSB has released so far, it seems that Autopilot was absolved in the incident.
The findings presented at the NTSB’s accounts all but confirmed what Elon Musk and Tesla supporters were contending online. It might be disappointing to media outlets like VICE, but as it was that the conspiracy theorist-like behaviour exhibited by a few Tesla sleuths online proven to be justified. There really was floated around, and if it wasn’t for the attempts of a few individuals, pertinent info about the incident might not have been filed to Tesla or the NTSB on time.
Interestingly enough, Harris County Pct. 4 Constable Mark Herman has remained silent for now. Teslarati has attempted to reach out into his office through email but has been ineffective. The Constable, at least for now, appears yet to issue a correction or retraction of the initial and now-debunked statements about the incident. Folks such as Texas Rep. Kevin Brady haven’t confessed to making an error .
How Misinformation Becomes Truth
Tesla, being a somewhat malevolent company directed by an equally anonymous man, will fall prey to misinformation — lots and lots of it. The story of the Texas crash is a great example, but it is one dip in a whole bucket full of incorrect reports concerning the business. Tesla CEO Elon Musk has thrown the towel with all mainstream media policy, reportedly abolishing Tesla’s PR section this past year. This, naturally, has pretty much opened the doors to much more misinformation — and into a point, also disinformation — which, consequently, becomes the overall public’s reality.
For specialist insights on the amount of misinformation becomes accepted, Teslarati reached out to Stephen Benning, a Professor of Psychology in the University of Las Vegas. Professor Benning explained that people have a tendency to get an anchoring bias, where the first information used to create a judgment affects it. While anchoring prejudice is generally considered in numerical judgments (such as quotes how much it really is worth), it could also play out when folks hear the initial reports of what occurred. This is most noteworthy in the event the event were memorable, such as a fatal Tesla accident. The initial information would probably stick on people’s thoughts and make an initial framework that places their faith about an event.
“Because first reports put people’s previous beliefs, further information must weigh against established beliefs. Individuals might have additional biases at drama, such as the confirmation bias that filters out data that isn’t constant with a preceding group of faith. It’s like folks set up filters to help themselves maintain the consistency of their faith at the cost of their potential correspondence with fact. The initial crash reports were also likely more vibrant than the dryer particulars of the subsequent investigation, or so the availability heuristic might make those initial reports more vibrant and accessible in people’s memories whenever they consider the crash – even should they’ve followed the subsequent reports,” he composed.
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Emma Frances Bloomfield (Ph.D.), currently an Assistant Professor of Communication Studies in the University of Nevada, Las Vegas with an expertise in strategies for combatting misinformation, explained to Teslarati that ultimately, misinformation and disinformation travel very quickly because they are usually persuasive and engaging, all while confirming an audience’s biases. This made the Texas crash a perfect storm of sorts, because it had a compelling event that catered to biases against Tesla and its Autopilot system. Unfortunately, Assistant Professor Bloomfield also highlighted that once misinformation places in, it requires a ton of effort .
“To tackle misinformation, individuals are able to make more complete stories that replace the incorrect one, supply trustworthy authority figures to provide the information, and not repeat the false information when making the correction. It is possible to also highlight the value of accurate data to make the best decisions moving forward and emphasize how those changes might reap the audience/consumer. In addition, we state, ‘correct early and correct often’ to attempt to get in front of this rectal advantage misinformation has and to counter the replica of this false info,” she composed.
A Battle That Tesla Doesn’t Need To Lose
If there’s something highlighted by Professor Benning and Assistant Professor Bloomfield, it is that misinformation is tough to battle when it’s settled in. And for a lie to settle in, it has to be replicated. The Texas crash revealed this. It didn’t start with a lie, but it began with a premature, poor statement that could be easily broken into a single.
The Constable’s certainty that there was no one at the driver’s seat has been premature at best, and reports about the incident being an Autopilot accident were also premature afterward, or a lie at worst. Reports about an uncontrollable blaze burning four hours were fictitious too. Yet the narrative was shattered down and unchallenged that even when the NTSB preliminary report came out, the needle hardly moved.
Elon Musk’s reservations about keeping up a relationship with the media are understandable. Years of incorrect reports have a tendency to do this to someone. But, Tesla could even embrace a more assertive anti-misinformation strategy. Tesla China was doing so as of late, to fantastic results. Anyone following the Tesla China story would be aware that the business was embroiled in a PR storm that involved alleged stories of “brake failure” incidents surrounding the company’s vehicles. But after an assertive legal campaign against Tesla China, media outlets have issued apologies for misreporting about the business and social media personalities have confessed to creating alleged incidents that painted the company’s vehicles at a negative light. Granted, such strategies might not be as powerful at the United States, but something has to be accomplished. This means something is remains up for query.
Do you’ve got anything to talk about with the Teslarati Team? We’d love to hear from you, email us in [email protected].
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