A person who used to work at Tesla, a car company, told people that the cars that drive themselves might not be safe. This person, Lukasz Krupski, shared information with a newspaper about problems with the cars stopping by themselves when they shouldn’t. He thinks the parts and computer programs in the cars are not good enough to be used on roads where they could cause accidents. Tesla, the car company, did not say anything when people asked them about this.

Lukasz looked at Tesla’s information and saw that the cars were not always being used the right way to be safe. He found times when the cars stopped for no reason, which could be dangerous. Tesla says that cars with their special driving program have fewer bad accidents than cars without it, but no one else has checked if this is true. The government in the United States is also looking into whether Tesla’s special driving program is okay to use.

Lukasz got a prize for telling people about these problems with the cars. A teacher named Jack Stilgoe thinks what Lukasz said is important because it makes us think about how smart cars make decisions. In the United Kingdom, the leaders are making new rules for cars that can drive themselves. This will help decide how these cars should be used safely.

Original news source: Ex-Tesla employee casts doubt on car safety (BBC)

Listen:

Slow

Normal

Fast

Vocabulary:

Group or Classroom Activities

Warm-up Activities:

– Charades
Instructions: Divide the class into two teams. One person from each team will come to the front of the class and act out a word or phrase related to the article (e.g. “self-driving car,” “Tesla,” “stop by itself”). The rest of the class will try to guess the word or phrase. The team that guesses correctly gets a point. Repeat with different students from each team until all the words or phrases have been acted out.

– News Summary
Instructions: In pairs, students will take turns summarizing the main points of the article to their partner. After one student finishes, the other student will give feedback and ask any questions they have about the article. Then, they will switch roles. Encourage students to use their own words and not to read directly from the article.

– Opinion Poll
Instructions: Write a question on the board related to the article, such as “Do you think self-driving cars are safe?” or “Should governments make rules for self-driving cars?” Have students raise their hands to vote for their opinion. Then, divide the class into small groups and have them discuss their opinions on the topic. After a few minutes, have each group share their opinions with the class.

– Vocabulary Pictionary
Instructions: Write key vocabulary words from the article on small pieces of paper and put them in a hat or container. Divide the class into two teams. One person from each team will come to the front of the class and draw a picture to represent the word on their paper. The rest of the team will try to guess the word. The team that guesses correctly gets a point. Repeat with different students from each team until all the words have been drawn.

– Future Predictions
Instructions: In pairs, students will take turns making predictions about the future of self-driving cars based on the information in the article. They can discuss topics such as safety, regulations, and public opinion. After one student finishes, the other student will give feedback and ask any questions they have about the prediction. Then, they will switch roles. Encourage students to use their own ideas and think critically about the topic.

Comprehension Questions:

1. Who used to work at Tesla and shared information about problems with the cars?
2. What did Lukasz find when he looked at Tesla’s information?
3. What did Lukasz get a prize for?
4. Why does Jack Stilgoe think what Lukasz said is important?
5. What are the leaders in the United Kingdom doing to help decide how self-driving cars should be used safely?
6. What did Tesla say about their special driving program?
7. Who else is looking into whether Tesla’s special driving program is okay to use?
Go to answers ⇩

Listen and Fill in the Gaps:

A person who used to work at Tesla, a car company, told people that the cars that drive themselves might not be (1)______. This person, Lukasz (2)______, shared information with a newspaper about problems with the cars stopping by themselves when they shouldn’t. He thinks the parts and computer (3)______ in the cars are not good enough to be used on roads where they could cause accidents. Tesla, the car (4)______, did not say anything when people asked them about this.

(5)______ looked at Tesla’s information and saw that the cars were not always being used the right way to be safe. He (6)______ times when the cars stopped for no reason, which could be dangerous. Tesla says that cars with their special (7)______ program have fewer bad accidents than cars without it, but no one else has checked if this is (8)______. The government in the United States is also (9)______ into whether Tesla’s special driving program is okay to use.

Lukasz got a prize for telling people about these problems with the cars. A teacher named Jack (10)______ thinks what Lukasz said is important because it makes us think about how (11)______ cars make decisions. In the United Kingdom, the leaders are making new rules for cars that can drive themselves. This will help (12)______ how these cars should be used safely.
Go to answers ⇩

Discussion Questions:

Students can ask a partner these questions, or discuss them as a group.

1. What is a self-driving car?
2. How would you feel if you were driving a car and it suddenly stopped for no reason?
3. Do you like the idea of cars that can drive themselves? Why or why not?
4. Do you think self-driving cars are safe? Why or why not?
5. What do you think about Lukasz getting a prize for telling people about the problems with the cars?
6. How do you think smart cars make decisions?
7. Do you think it’s important for the government to check if Tesla’s special driving program is safe? Why or why not?
8. What do you think about the leaders in the United Kingdom making new rules for self-driving cars?
9. How do you think self-driving cars should be used safely?
10. Have you ever seen a self-driving car? What was it like?
11. Would you like to ride in a self-driving car? Why or why not?
12. What do you think the future of self-driving cars will be like?

Individual Activities

Vocabulary Meanings:

Match each word to its meaning.

Words:
1. accidents
2. computer programs
3. dangerous
4. government
5. information
6. leaders
7. parts
8. prize
9. problems
10. roads
11. rules
12. smart cars

Meanings:
(A) Not safe, can cause harm or hurt
(B) Something you get for doing something well
(C) The people who make decisions for a country or area
(D) Instructions that tell people what they can and can’t do
(E) Pieces or pieces of something bigger
(F) When something bad happens unexpectedly
(G) Difficulties or things that are not going well
(H) People who are in charge and tell others what to do
(I) Instructions that tell a computer what to do
(J) Facts or details about something
(K) The paths that cars drive on
(L) Cars that can think and make decisions on their own
Go to answers ⇩

Multiple Choice Questions:

1. Who shared information about problems with Tesla’s self-driving cars?
(a) Jack Stilgoe
(b) The government
(c) Tesla
(d) Lukasz Krupski

2. What did Lukasz find about the cars stopping?
(a) They stopped because of accidents
(b) They stopped when they should
(c) They stopped because of bad parts
(d) They stopped for no reason

3. Why did Lukasz think the cars were not safe?
(a) The cars were too expensive
(b) The cars were not popular
(c) The parts and computer programs were not good enough
(d) The cars were not fast enough

4. What did Tesla say about accidents with their self-driving cars?
(a) They have fewer bad accidents than cars without their program
(b) They have more accidents than cars without their program
(c) They have the same amount of accidents as cars without their program
(d) They did not say anything about accidents

5. Who is looking into whether Tesla’s special driving program is safe?
(a) Lukasz Krupski
(b) The government in the United States
(c) Jack Stilgoe
(d) Tesla

6. Why does Jack Stilgoe think what Lukasz said is important?
(a) It makes us think about how smart cars make decisions
(b) It makes us think about how expensive the cars are
(c) It makes us think about how fast the cars are
(d) It makes us think about how popular the cars are

7. What are the leaders in the United Kingdom making?
(a) New rules for cars that cannot drive themselves
(b) New rules for bicycles
(c) New rules for cars that can drive themselves
(d) New rules for buses

8. What did Lukasz receive for telling people about the problems with the cars?
(a) A car
(b) A prize
(c) A job at Tesla
(d) A newspaper article

Go to answers ⇩

True or False Questions:

1. Lukasz believes that the parts and computer programs in the cars are not good enough to be used on roads.
2. The government in the United States is investigating whether Tesla’s driving program is safe.
3. Lukasz received a prize for sharing information about the car problems.
4. Lukasz found instances where the cars accelerated for no reason, which could be dangerous.
5. Tesla promptly responded when people asked them about the concerns.
6. The person’s name is Lukasz Krupski.
7. Tesla claims that cars with their driving program have more accidents, but this hasn’t been verified by others.
8. A person who used to work at Tesla shared information about the benefits of the cars that drive themselves.
Go to answers ⇩

Write a Summary:

Write a summary of this news article in two sentences.

Writing Questions:

Answer the following questions. Write as much as you can for each answer.

1. Who shared information about problems with Tesla cars?
2. What did Lukasz Krupski say about the cars stopping by themselves?
3. Why does Lukasz think the cars might not be safe?
4. What did Lukasz find when he looked at Tesla’s information?
5. Why is the government in the United States looking into Tesla’s special driving program?

Answers

Comprehension Question Answers:

1. Who used to work at Tesla and shared information about problems with the cars?
Lukasz Krupski.

2. What did Lukasz find when he looked at Tesla’s information?
Lukasz found that the cars sometimes stopped for no reason, which could be dangerous.

3. What did Lukasz get a prize for?
Lukasz got a prize for telling people about the problems with the cars.

4. Why does Jack Stilgoe think what Lukasz said is important?
Jack Stilgoe thinks what Lukasz said is important because it makes us think about how smart cars make decisions.

5. What are the leaders in the United Kingdom doing to help decide how self-driving cars should be used safely?
The leaders in the United Kingdom are making new rules for cars that can drive themselves to help decide how they should be used safely.

6. What did Tesla say about their special driving program?
Tesla did not say anything when people asked them about their special driving program.

7. Who else is looking into whether Tesla’s special driving program is okay to use?
The government in the United States is also looking into whether Tesla’s special driving program is okay to use.
Go back to questions ⇧

Listen and Fill in the Gaps Answers:

(1) safe
(2) Krupski
(3) programs
(4) company
(5) Lukasz
(6) found
(7) driving
(8) true
(9) looking
(10) Stilgoe
(11) smart
(12) decide
Go back to questions ⇧

Vocabulary Meanings Answers:

1. accidents
Answer: (F) When something bad happens unexpectedly

2. computer programs
Answer: (I) Instructions that tell a computer what to do

3. dangerous
Answer: (A) Not safe, can cause harm or hurt

4. government
Answer: (C) The people who make decisions for a country or area

5. information
Answer: (J) Facts or details about something

6. leaders
Answer: (H) People who are in charge and tell others what to do

7. parts
Answer: (E) Pieces or pieces of something bigger

8. prize
Answer: (B) Something you get for doing something well

9. problems
Answer: (G) Difficulties or things that are not going well

10. roads
Answer: (K) The paths that cars drive on

11. rules
Answer: (D) Instructions that tell people what they can and can’t do

12. smart cars
Answer: (L) Cars that can think and make decisions on their own
Go back to questions ⇧

Multiple Choice Answers:

1. Who shared information about problems with Tesla’s self-driving cars?
Answer: (d) Lukasz Krupski

2. What did Lukasz find about the cars stopping?
Answer: (d) They stopped for no reason

3. Why did Lukasz think the cars were not safe?
Answer: (c) The parts and computer programs were not good enough

4. What did Tesla say about accidents with their self-driving cars?
Answer: (a) They have fewer bad accidents than cars without their program

5. Who is looking into whether Tesla’s special driving program is safe?
Answer: (b) The government in the United States

6. Why does Jack Stilgoe think what Lukasz said is important?
Answer: (a) It makes us think about how smart cars make decisions

7. What are the leaders in the United Kingdom making?
Answer: (c) New rules for cars that can drive themselves

8. What did Lukasz receive for telling people about the problems with the cars?
Answer: (b) A prize
Go back to questions ⇧

True or False Answers:

1. Lukasz believes that the parts and computer programs in the cars are not good enough to be used on roads. (Answer: True)
2. The government in the United States is investigating whether Tesla’s driving program is safe. (Answer: True)
3. Lukasz received a prize for sharing information about the car problems. (Answer: True)
4. Lukasz found instances where the cars accelerated for no reason, which could be dangerous. (Answer: False)
5. Tesla promptly responded when people asked them about the concerns. (Answer: False)
6. The person’s name is Lukasz Krupski. (Answer: True)
7. Tesla claims that cars with their driving program have more accidents, but this hasn’t been verified by others. (Answer: False)
8. A person who used to work at Tesla shared information about the benefits of the cars that drive themselves. (Answer: False)
Go back to questions ⇧