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Tesla strikes and kills pedestrian on Interstate 80 in Vallejo, California

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Coverage spectrum

Covered by 3 outlets, all right-leaning.

3 articles in total. The spectrum counts each outlet once and leaves opinion out. How we measure bias

Close-up of Tesla logo on a rain-beaded red car hood.
Image via The Washington TimesHow images are chosenReport this image

The New York Post, The Washington Times and the Daily Mail report that a Tesla struck and killed a 71-year-old pedestrian on Interstate 80 near Vallejo, California, early Thursday. The California Highway Patrol is the source for the crash details. The 26-year-old driver told investigators the car was in Full Self-Driving mode, according to the outlets. The outlets say the CHP reviewed dash camera footage showing the car braking and steering left before the pedestrian was hit, and that at least one other vehicle struck him while he lay in the lanes. Authorities have not identified the other driver or drivers.

Headline and summary written by Mantle’s AI from the coverage below, under published rules. How this works

What happened

Key points

Each point shows who reports it, from Far Left to Far Right.

  1. A Tesla struck and killed a pedestrian on Interstate 80 in Vallejo, California, early Thursday, according to the California Highway Patrol.

    One side only: the rightReported byRight3See the outletsHide the outlets
    Right
    New York Post, The Washington Times, Daily Mail
  2. The pedestrian was a 71-year-old man who was crossing the freeway.

    One side only: the rightReported byRight2See the outletsHide the outlets
    Right
    New York Post, Daily Mail
  3. The 26-year-old driver told investigators the Tesla was in Full Self-Driving mode at the time of the crash.

    One side only: the rightReported byRight2See the outletsHide the outlets
    Right
    New York Post, Daily Mail
  4. The CHP said dash camera footage showed the Tesla’s brakes applied and the car steering left before impact.

    One side only: the rightReported byRight2See the outletsHide the outlets
    Right
    New York Post, Daily Mail
  5. Authorities said at least one other vehicle struck the pedestrian while he was lying in the traffic lanes.

    One side only: the rightReported byRight2See the outletsHide the outlets
    Right
    New York Post, Daily Mail

How each side tells it

Compare views

The outlets report that a Tesla struck and killed a pedestrian on Interstate 80, and that the driver said the car was in Full Self-Driving mode. Headlines differ in wording: the New York Post uses ‘kills’ and scare quotes, while the Washington Times leads with the pedestrian.

  • the left

    No coverage yet

    No left-leaning outlet that Mantle follows has covered this story yet. That absence is part of the picture.

  • the center

    No coverage yet

    No center outlet that Mantle follows has covered this story yet. That absence is part of the picture.

  • the right

    3 outlets

    Headlines put the Tesla and its self-driving mode first, treating the mode as the story; the New York Post adds scare quotes and the word ‘kills’.

    Tesla in Delegitimizing label“‘self-driving’”Scare quotes around the feature’s name suggest it is not what it is called, before the facts about the car’s mode are established.More neutral: self-drivingDisagree with this highlight? mode kills pedestrian, 71, on California freeway
    New York PostRightAll right-leaning headlines

The words they chose

Language to notice

Words that carry a judgement beyond the facts. Tap a highlighted word anywhere on the page to see why.

  • Left

    Has not covered this story.

  • Center

    Has not covered this story.

  • Right3

    claiming‘self-driving’Self-driving Tesla

In the outlets’ own words

  • Loaded verb

    claimingMore neutral: saying

    ‘Claiming’ signals doubt about the driver’s statement more than neutral wording such as ‘saying’ would.

    …71-year-old pedestrian on a Bay Area freeway in the dead of night – with the driver claiming the car was in Full Self-Driving mode.

    Used byNew York Post (Right)

  • Delegitimizing label

    ‘self-driving’More neutral: self-driving

    Scare quotes around the feature’s name suggest it is not what it is called, before the facts about the car’s mode are established.

    Tesla in ‘self-driving’ mode kills pedestrian, 71, on California freeway

    Used byNew York Post (Right)

  • Absolutist framing

    Self-driving TeslaMore neutral: Tesla allegedly in self-driving mode

    The headline states as fact that the car was self-driving, while the article’s own excerpt says it was allegedly self-driving.

    Self-driving Tesla struck and killed man, 71, who was trying to cross California freeway

    Used byDaily Mail (Right)

See the full language guide

See for yourself

Side by side

What each side leads with and what it leaves out. Open a side to read its headlines.

From the left

0 outlets

No left-leaning outlet that Mantle follows has covered this story yet. That absence is part of the picture.

From the center

0 outlets

No center outlet that Mantle follows has covered this story yet. That absence is part of the picture.

From the right

3 outlets

Leads with

  • Tesla’s self-driving mode
  • driver’s claim of Full Self-Driving
  • speed of 70 mph
  • CHP dash camera footage
See the 3 headlines from the rightHide the headlines
  • Absolutist framing“Self-driving Tesla”The headline states as fact that the car was self-driving, while the article’s own excerpt says it was allegedly self-driving.More neutral: Tesla allegedly in self-driving modeDisagree with this highlight? struck and killed man, 71, who was trying to cross California freeway

    The vehicle hit the elderly pedestrian at 70 mph while the 26-year-old driver claimed the car was in Full Self-Driving mode.

  • Pedestrian killed by Tesla in self-driving mode on I-80 in California

    A pedestrian who walked into the road on U.S. Interstate 80 in California was struck and killed by a Tesla operating in its autonomous mode Thursday.

  • Tesla in Delegitimizing label“‘self-driving’”Scare quotes around the feature’s name suggest it is not what it is called, before the facts about the car’s mode are established.More neutral: self-drivingDisagree with this highlight? mode kills pedestrian, 71, on California freeway

    A pedestrian who was walking across Interstate 80 in Vallejo early Thursday morning was killed.

Articles you open from here build My Mix, a private picture of how your reading spreads across the spectrum, kept on this device. What is My Mix?

The left is Far Left and Left together. The right is Right and Far Right together. Every outlet keeps its own five-point rating.

Who reported it when

How the coverage built up

  • Left

    No report yet

    From the outlets Mantle follows

  • Center

    No report yet

    From the outlets Mantle follows

  • Right

    First to report

    New York Post, Oct 22, 2:33 PM EDT

See the order the outlets reported inHide the order
  1. New York PostRightOct 22, 2:33 PM EDT
  2. The Washington TimesRightOct 22, 3:23 PM EDT
  3. Daily MailRightOct 22, 10:28 PM EDT

Times are the ones the outlets published in their own feeds, in Eastern time. Opinion is left out.

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