Tesla's Autopilot feature avoided a crash before it even happened, new video seems to show

A new video circulating around Twitter shows just how effective — and life-saving — self-driving vehicles can be.

The clip, uploaded by Twittter user Hans Noordsij, reveals dash cam footage from a Tesla traveling down the A2 highway in the Netherlands. Everything seems to be just fine until the Tesla suddenly beeps and begins to decelerate. Within a moment, the car ahead of the Tesla collides into an SUV causing a major accident on the freeway.

Noordsij himself was not in the vehicle, but said he received the footage from a WhatsApp message in which the driver also informed him that no one was seriously injured. Noordsij went on to point out that not only did Tesla's emergency breaking system kick in effectively, but it was able to read the scene two cars ahead of its position using its radar technology. 

In September, Tesla announced it would be upgrading its Autopilot feature to use radar as the "primary control sensor" rather than cameras. "The most significant upgrade to Autopilot will be the use of more advanced signal processing to create a picture of the world using the onboard radar," the company wrote in a blog post.

Autonomous vehicles have recently been under fire following Uber's removal of its self-driving Volvos from San Francisco. Perhaps the latest Tesla video will convince American consumers of the technology's effectiveness. Mic has reached out to Tesla for comment and will update with any response.