The man who drove a Tesla Inc TSLA off the side of a cliff is set to appear in court this week, and he's telling a different story than the chilling narrative his wife told first responders.
What To Know: At the beginning of the year, a Tesla Model Y plummeted off a cliff in California, but all passengers made it out alive. According to the driver's wife, it wasn't an accident.
The Tesla vehicle plunged 250 feet down the cliff and flipped several times before landing right-side up. The driver, doctor Dharmesh Patel, his wife Neha Patel and their two children were rescued via helicopter before the driver was arrested and charged with three counts of attempted murder.
Dharmesh Patel pleaded not guilty to the charges and is scheduled to appear in court Monday for a preliminary hearing. According to a Business Insider report, Patel told authorities he didn't intentionally drive the vehicle off the side of the cliff, instead, he was pulling over to check his tire pressure when the car went into freefall.
See Also: Tesla Autopilot Involved In 736 Accidents And 17 Fatalities Since 2019 As Deployments Widen: Report
Dharmesh Patel stated that the car felt unusual, and he noticed a sensor on the dashboard alerting him to low tire pressure shortly before he pulled the vehicle off the side of the road.
Patel told responders that he believed he was pulling onto a dirt path, but accidentally drove off the side of the cliff.
Patel's wife tells a different story. She reportedly told first responders more than once that her husband intended to drive the car off of the cliff in an attempt to "kill everyone" inside. She added that he was in need of a psychological evaluation.
When Patel was asked if he felt depressed, he reportedly said he wasn't, but acknowledged that he "felt down because times were bad in the world." He also denied being suicidal.
Two witnesses reportedly said the vehicle "accelerated" toward the edge of the road, and noted that it did not appear the driver attempted to hit the brakes.
This illustration was generated using artificial intelligence via MidJourney.
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