Tesla doesn't seem to actually sense hands on wheel. They sense torque on the steering wheel.[1] Mercedes seems to have capacitative touch sensing, although customers complaining about it aren't quite sure.[2]

Tesla doesn't take the absence of hands too seriously. "I'm driving down the highway at 55, and I'm not looking, and I have no hands on the wheel".[3] Hands off driving in New York City traffic.[4] "I managed to go 50 miles without a single nag"[5]

Apparently Tesla does have only one camera on currently shipping products. They must be trying to do stereo from motion. There are rumors of a revision to the Model S with multiple cameras.[5]

Yes, the van crash was in May, not yesterday.

[1] https://forums.teslamotors.com/forum/forums/how-get-rid-hold... [2] http://mbworld.org/forums/new-s-class-w222/626411-steering-w... [2] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LS7pAC0OmLI [3] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M4BGlQoASyo [4] https://forums.teslamotors.com/forum/forums/nag-hands-wheel-... [5] http://cleantechnica.com/2016/05/04/new-tesla-model-s-2nd-tr...