"Neither Autopilot nor the driver noticed the white side of the tractor trailer against a brightly lit sky, so the brake was not applied. The high ride height of the trailer combined with its positioning across the road and the extremely rare circumstances of the impact caused the Model S to pass under the trailer, with the bottom of the trailer impacting the windshield of the Model S"
1) The Sensors did not "see" the trailer due to Bright sunlight & <XYZ> 2) The Collision was at the WindShield Level and above but not to the Front
Neither of these sound like "Extremely Rare" occurrences. That part is just pure PR Spin.
Request for TESLA - You are doing great things to move the whole industry forward. Do not F* it up by being too aggressive here.
1) Do not rely on purely Visual cues use (multiple) Radars/LiDARs/Some thing that works irrespective of Visible Light conditions - so an additional Radar unit on Top that is checking for obstacles at the height of the car would make sense.
2) Improved Crash sensors
Till then DISABLE the system except in very limited circumstances even if the owner tries to activate it. This is NOT a "Move Fast and Break things" situation. Some poor soul lost his life because of Tesla's inability to foresee this situation lulled him into a false sense of complacency (and partly his own inattention).