But there was far more to Musk’s statistical defense of Autopilot’s safety than just “doing the bloody math.” Musk was comparing a tiny number of Teslas, none of which was more than four years old or cheaper than about $70,000, to a much larger US car fleet with an average age of eleven years and an average price of $35,000. Moreover, Autopilot was supposed to be used only on divided highways, whereas the average car operates in far more complex environments, making crashes more likely.
