2 injured in three-vehicle crash in Rochester
A 2015 Chevy Impala, 2015 Volkswagon Passat and 2022 Tesla Y were traveling south on Highway 52 when they collided in the Second Street Southwest exit ramp lane around 6:50 a.m. Tuesday, according to a Minnesota State Patrol crash report.
The driver of the Chevy, 25-year-old Rodnique Monaee Shearrill of Rochester, had non-life-threatening injuries. Her passenger, 28-year-old Otis Jabari Edwards of Rochester, also had non-life-threatening injuries. Both were transported to Mayo Clinic Hospital-Saint Marys.
The driver of the Volkswagon, 62-year-old Ana Pranjic of Rochester, and the driver of the Tesla, 39-year-old Dustin Brent Hillerson of Rochester, were not injured in the crash, according to the report.
The Minnesota State Patrol, Rochester Police Department, Rochester Fire Department and Mayo Clinic Ambulance Service responded to the crash.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Business Insider
7 minutes ago
- Business Insider
Elon Musk says Tesla's new six-seat Model Y might never come to the US
Tesla's new six-seat Model Y is creating plenty of buzz in China — but don't expect to see it in the US anytime soon. CEO Elon Musk said on Wednesday that the Model Y L, an extended version of Tesla's most popular vehicle with three rows of seats, might never arrive on American shores. "This variant of the Model Y doesn't start production in the US until the end of next year. Might not ever, given the advent of self-driving in America," wrote Musk in a post on X. The Model Y L, which adds new features including a rear row of foldable seats and powered armrests, went on sale for $47,200 in China on Tuesday. Its launch comes as Tesla battles fierce competition from local EV players like BYD, Xiaomi, and Xpeng. Electric vehicle adoption in China is far higher than in the US, and Chinese companies have rapidly taken market share with a wave of affordable electric models packed with high-tech features, including autonomous driving and voice controls. The Model Y, China's best-selling SUV, is facing a number of new challengers. In June, smartphone giant-turned EV maker Xiaomi launched the YU7, an electric SUV priced just below the Model Y. Xiaomi says the YU7 received nearly 300,000 preorders in an hour after it launched. EV startups Xpeng and Nio have also unveiled their own Model Y rivals in recent weeks. In the US, where Chinese EVs are not available due to high tariffs, Tesla has increasingly focused on its robotaxi and ride-hailing services. The company launched its first robotaxi service, which is currently invite-only, in Austin in June. Musk has predicted that driverless vehicles will become the norm over the next decade, and told investors last October that building a regular non-robotaxi model would be "pointless." The last new product Tesla launched in the US was the Cybertruck, which has been a sales flop since it made its debut in 2023. The company has said it is planning to release an affordable model, which Musk has described as "just a Model Y," in the fourth quarter of 2025.
Forbes
7 minutes ago
- Forbes
Elon Musk's Self-Driving Tesla Lies Are Finally Catching Up To Him
Elon Musk arrives at Donal Trump's inauguration as President in January. Getty Images A federal judge in San Francisco just greenlit a class action lawsuit by Tesla owners to sue the carmaker for exaggerated claims by CEO Elon Musk and the company about the self-driving capability of its electric vehicles that stretch all the way back to 2016. It's the latest blow to plans by the world's richest person to reposition Tesla as a leader in artificial intelligence and autonomous driving amid a dramatic slowdown in its EV sales. Nine years ago, Elon Musk told reporters that Tesla was taking a bold leap into the future by equipping its electric lineup with all the tech it would ever need to one day operate as truly autonomous vehicles. 'The full autonomy hardware suite will be standard on all vehicles Tesla makes from here on out,' Musk said. When fully utilized at some later date, as the AI-enabled software was refined, an array of digital cameras, ultrasonic sensors and radar would give Teslas full 'Level 5' autonomy – a designation indicating a robotic ability to drive under all conditions. It wasn't true then and still isn't. From hyperloops to solar roofs to trillion-dollar savings from federal budget cuts by DOGE, Musk has developed a reputation for excessive boasts and telling outright whoppers. For years, that habit hasn't been a big problem for his companies, his image or wealth, but it's shaping up to be one for Tesla, already stung by a 13% drop in its global EV sales in the first half of 2025. The class-action suit comes on the heels of a separate federal case in Miami this month in which a jury determined that Tesla bore some responsibility for a fatal 2019 crash that occurred while its Autopilot feature was engaged, and ordered the company to pay $243 million in damages. Meanwhile, the company could temporarily lose its ability to sell cars in California, its top U.S. market, if a judge in a case brought by the state's Department of Motor Vehicles determines it misled consumers by overstating the self-driving ability of its vehicles. 'The overarching thing is none of this is new. This has all been a long time coming,' said Phil Koopman, an autonomous vehicle tech researcher and professor emeritus at Carnegie Mellon University. 'We're sort of seeing the pieces fall into place now, but it's not out of the blue by any stretch.' Neither Musk nor Tesla responded to a request for comment. 'Right now, there are real robotaxis carrying real people on real roads. None of them is a Tesla.' Bryant Walker Smith The legal setbacks aren't a huge financial problem, at least so far, but a reputational one as they undercut Musk's continued rhetoric about Tesla being a leader in autonomous driving, despite hard evidence to support it. Alphabet's Waymo, which operates commercial robotaxis in five major U.S. cities and is testing in 10 more, has solidified its position as the dominant player in that space. Musk said on Tesla's results call that the company will ultimately overtake Waymo because its system is much cheaper, though a robotaxi pilot Tesla launched in Austin in June, with human safety drivers in the front seat, suggests it has a long way to go to catch up. 'Right now, there are real robotaxis carrying real people on real roads,' said Bryant Walker Smith, an AV researcher and professor at the University of South Carolina. In July, Smith served as an expert witness for the California DMV in its case against Tesla. 'None of them is a Tesla.' Prior to the start of its test program in Austin, where Tesla is based, the company's engineers had told regulators that, despite the names Autopilot and Full Self-Driving, its system is technically classified as Level 2 autonomy, providing driver assistance but requiring humans at the wheel to be ready to take over at any time. In its current robotaxi pilot, in addition to a safety tech sitting in the front of the vehicle, Tesla is also relying on remote operators to monitor its fleet and provide driving assistance when problems arise–like almost running into an oncoming train. Smith, who recently published a study comparing the performance of robotaxis operated by Waymo in the U.S. to those of tech giant Baidu in China, noted that the persistence of Musk's unrealized self-driving targets is somewhat unique. 'There were lots of overly optimistic claims in the early 2010s,' he said. 'But other companies have either delivered on or tempered their claims.' A man steps out of a Tesla Robotaxi in Austin on June 27. Houston Chronicle via Getty Images In 2019, at Tesla's 'Autonomy Day,' Musk famously boasted the company would have a million robotaxis on the road by 2020. That didn't happen, nor did his claim at the same event that Teslas with FSD would become more valuable over time, generating as much as $30,000 in extra income a year for owners who put their cars in a Tesla-run robotaxi network. In its latest monthly pricing reports, the car-buying site iSeeCars notes that used Teslas have lost the most value as a brand this year, falling 5.3% in July. Puffery In court cases, attorneys for Tesla have argued that comments by Musk are 'puffery,' boastful exaggerations that aren't meant to be taken literally. Yet that's not something typically ever seen with auto companies, given that improper concern for customer safety can result in massively expensive liability lawsuits and legal repercussions. Tesla has largely avoided both until recently, despite the fact that an estimated 59 fatalities have been linked to the use of Autopilot and FSD, according to data compiled on In the Miami case, jurors determined that most of the responsibility for a fatal accident that killed Naibel Benavides Leon lay with George McGee, the human driver, though Tesla was 33% liable owing to Autopilot's role. The company is appealing the ruling, but it opens the door to more such suits in the future. 'Tesla wants to have it both ways,' said Missy Cummings, a George Mason University professor and AI expert who advised NHTSA on autonomous vehicles. She was also a witness or consultant on the cases in Miami, San Francisco and for California's DMV. 'They want to sell cars by telling people they can be driven on Autopilot and Full Self-Driving, but then when someone dies, they want to say it was all the driver's fault and that Tesla only ever claimed that the car was driving-assist' tech, she said. The ruling in Miami 'was a rebuke of this nonsensical approach,' she said. 'The jury saw and heard evidence regarding Tesla's testing program that clearly demonstrated it was not doing due diligence. If you're going to claim your car can self-drive, then you certainly should be able to show test results that provide solid evidence to this claim.' Tesla shares fell about 1.8% to $329.31 on Tuesday. They're down 18% this year. More From Forbes Forbes Elon Musk's Robotaxi Dream Could Be A Liability Nightmare For Tesla And Its Owners By Alan Ohnsman Forbes Feds Greenlight Amazon's Zoox To Operate Robotaxis With No Steering Wheel Or Pedals By Alan Ohnsman Forbes Waymo Plans To Widen Robotaxi Lead Over Tesla With 2026 Dallas Launch By Alan Ohnsman
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Tesla patents mind-blowing technology that could redefine electric vehicles as we know them — here's what we know
Tesla has taken another step toward making its long-delayed new Roadster one of the fastest and most advanced production cars ever built. According to Teslarati, a recently filed patent outlines an active aerodynamic system that uses fans and deployable skirts. The system would generate low-pressure zones beneath the car, increasing traction during extreme acceleration and high-speed cornering. When the Roadster was first revealed in 2017, Elon Musk promised a blistering 0-60 mph time of 1.9 seconds. Since then, Tesla's Model S Plaid has nearly matched that, hitting 1.99 seconds, for a fraction of the Roadster's expected price. In early 2024, Musk raised the stakes, saying Tesla was aiming for a sub-one-second 0-60 mph time, describing it as the "least interesting" feature of the vehicle. While such acceleration is possible in specialized dragsters, no street-legal car has come close. If Tesla's new aero system works as intended, it could help keep the Roadster firmly planted during these extreme launches. Beyond the engineering feat, this innovation could help Tesla reassert its leadership in an EV market where competition is growing fast. It might also bolster interest in a brand that's faced headwinds in 2025: Tesla's second-quarter revenue fell 12% to $22.5 billion — its steepest drop in over a decade — while vehicle deliveries slid 13% year over year. For drivers, the benefits go beyond speed. Better aerodynamic control can improve efficiency by reducing drag in certain conditions, extending range and lowering charging costs. And because EVs produce no exhaust pollution, advances that make them more appealing could accelerate the shift away from gas-powered cars. Pairing an EV like the Roadster with home solar can make ownership even more cost-effective. Charging with solar energy is cheaper than using public stations or the grid, and EnergySage makes it simple to compare quotes from vetted local installers and save up to $10,000 on installation. Tesla has not confirmed when the new Roadster will launch, but the car could set a new benchmark for what's possible in a street-legal EV if this patent becomes reality. Would you buy an EV if it only took you five minutes to charge? Sign me up Depends on the cost No way I already have one Click your choice to see results and speak your mind. Join our free newsletter for weekly updates on the latest innovations improving our lives and shaping our future, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.
