Opinions about Tesla's driver-assisted driving system Autopilot have remained polarized. Elon Musk recently revealed the reason for the company's release of Autopilot in a Twitter interaction with his fans.

Twitter user @truth_tesla shared a video showing a Norwegian driver of a Tesla Model S passing out while driving. Luckily the vehicle was on Autopilot, and it was able to slow down and stop safely before engaging its hazards and alerting other drivers on the road. No one was harmed in the incident.

Elon Musk later replied to the tweet, saying that the company “hustled” to releasing Autopilot V1 because a driver had previously fallen asleep while driving a non-Autopilot Tesla and hit and killed a cyclist.

He added that after the crash, the driver sued Tesla instead, claiming that the "new car smell" put him to sleep, but the judge rejected that argument. Since then, Autopilot has been steadily improving until today.