Tesla Tweaks Autopilot’s Chinese Translation After Beijing Crash

  • Carmaker now markets Autopilot as driver-assistance system
  • Model S driver sideswiped parked car in Beijing on Aug. 2
Photographer: Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg
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Tesla Motors Inc. has altered the translation of how the electric-car maker markets its Autopilot system in China, following a minor accident in Beijing earlier this month.

The maker of the plug-in Model X crossover changed the translation to list Autopilot as a driver-assistance system, rather than a self-driving system, on its website, said Gary Tao, a Beijing-based spokesman. Luo Zhen, a 32-year-old Beijing resident, sideswiped a parked car when using Autopilot without keeping his hands on the wheel earlier this month, which scratched his Model S and didn’t result in any injuries.