
An electric car had to be pulled from Traunsee Lake in Upper Austria after its obstacle detection system caused the driver to veer into the water, submerging the vehicle five metres deep.
Emergency services were called to the scene in Gmunden at around 1.30pm on Monday afternoon.
Shortly before, a 45-year-old Czech man, living in the Ried district, had been driving his Tesla on Traunstein Straße towards Umkehrplatz.
According to the police report, the driver had activated the vehicle’s autopilot, which suddenly detected an obstacle that wasn’t on the road and initiated emergency braking. After the emergency stop, the vehicle then accelerated again. The sudden burst of speed startled the driver, who turned the wheel sharply to the right, causing the car to cross a narrow grass verge and plunge into the lake.
The driver managed to escape from the sinking vehicle uninjured. Divers from the fire brigade’s diving centre 3, along with the Gmunden volunteer fire brigade, retrieved the car from the lake.
Autonomous driving is not permitted under current road traffic regulations in Austria.