Joshua Brown, a 40-year-old former member of the Navy SEALs for 11 years and founder of Nexu Innovations Inc., died in an accident on May 7 in Williston, Florida, when his Tesla Model S sedan crashed into a tractor trailer.
The Canton, Ohio, native, who worked on wireless Internet networks and camera systems, was killed when the cameras used by the engaged autopilot feature on his car failed to recognize a white tractor trailer against the brightly lit sky as it made a left in front of him. The autopilot failed to apply the car’s brakes as it plowed into the trailer, slipping the car underneath it, and sheering the roof completely off.
According to YahooNews,
Frank Baressi, 62, the driver of the truck and owner of Okemah Express LLC, said the Tesla driver was “playing Harry Potter on the TV screen” at the time of the crash and driving so quickly that “he went so fast through my trailer I didn’t see him.”
“It was still playing when he died and snapped a telephone pole a quarter mile down the road,” Baressi told The Associated Press in an interview from his home in Palm Harbor, Florida. He acknowledged he couldn’t see the movie, only heard it.
Brown was a big fan of his Tesla Model S, which he affectionately nicknamed “Tessy.” He upolaed 24 videos to his Youtube channel praising and demonstrating the car’s futuristic features. The last clip Brown ever published was footage from two months ago when his car swerved to avoid an oversized white work truck that cut him off on the highway.
Brown stated in the video’s description, “I have done a lot of testing with the sensors in the car and the software capabilities. I have always been impressed with the car, but I had not tested the car’s side collision avoidance. I am VERY impressed. Excellent job Elon!” (video below)
Tesla’s CEO Elon Musk tweeted out the news of Brown’s death:
The company issued a statement saying that Brown, “[H]ad a loving family and we are beyond saddened by their loss. He was a friend to Tesla and the broader EV community, a person who spent his life focused on innovation and the promise of technology and who believed strongly in Tesla’s mission. We would like to extend our deepest sympathies to his family and friends.”
AP’s coverage of the crash included an interview with the driver of the trailer that was hit by the Tesla:
Below is Brown’s video from his Youtube channel from last October demonstrating where to keep your hands while autopilot is engaged:
Tesla says this is the first known death in over 130 million miles of Autopilot operation.