Tesla Autopilot Protects Nature: It Saved Momma Bear And Cubs

Tesla Autopilot is still in beta testing, but it now has reached a point in which it saves lives. Despite being blamed for accidents, it performs really well. Mother Nature can now say the same. Better saying, a mother bear and its two cubs can, according to a video shot by Andrew Whittle’s TeslaCam.

Gallery: Tesla Autopilot Protects Nature - It Saved Momma Bear And Its Cubs

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He was near the Glacier National Park in Montana. We don’t know when or precisely where. It was dark, and his Tesla Model 3 Performance had made most of the journey on Autopilot. When momma bear and her cubs crossed the road, Autopilot immediately braked.

Would a focused driver have done the same? Most certainly. But what if he was distracted? What if he did not see the bears? In any of these possibilities, it is excellent to know how well Autopilot works in such situations.

Whittle backed up the car a bit to avoid an attack by an apparently defiant mother bear. That was enough for her to leave peacefully. And for Whittle to tell us his story with the video above and the description below. 

Video Description Via Andrew Whittle On YouTube:

I was driving my Model 3 Performance near Glacier National Park in Montana in the evening. Most of the road trip from Utah to Montana was done on Autopilot including this moment where you can see the car goes from cruising at 50mph to a full stop when sensing this family of bears. The momma bear immediately jumps back out on to the road to get between us and her cubs. She then gives us the death stare till we back up away from her two cubs. 

This was an amazing demonstration of how much better the Autopilot function has gotten since I received the car. Not only did autopilot sense the family of bears in the dark while the car was going 50mph, but the Dashcam feature recorded the whole thing in great resolution! Thanks again Tesla!