The driver killed in the first known fatal crash of a Tesla vehicle in the semi-autonomous Autopilot mode had previously posted a viral video of his Model S avoiding an accident with Autopilot engaged. Joshua Brown, a 40-year-old Ohio man who regularly posted Tesla videos to his YouTube account, received more than 1.7 million views to a dash cam video of his Model S avoiding a collision on a highway.
The video even garnered a tweet and a link from Elon Musk.
Owner video of Autopilot steering to avoid collision with a truckhttps://t.co/FZUAXSjlR7
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 17, 2016
In the description for the video, Brown says he “actually wasn’t watching that direction and Tessy (the name of my car) was on duty with autopilot engaged. I became aware of the danger when Tessy alerted me with the “immediately take over” warning chime and the car swerving to the right to avoid the side collision.”
In its blog post, Tesla said Brown “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.”