Federal Regulators Investigate Fatal Tesla Autopilot Crash in California
The NHTSA is probing a deadly California crash involving a Tesla Model S that potentially uses Autopilot, adding to a growing list of similar investigations.
A U.S. federal safety agency investigates a fatal crash involving a 2022 Tesla Model S that operates on the company's Autopilot system. The accident occurs earlier this month in Newport Beach, California, when the vehicle hits a curb and slams into construction equipment, killing three people and leaving the car completely totaled.
This tragic collision marks the latest addition to a long list of special crash investigations by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Out of 35 special crash investigations into Tesla since 2016, regulators rule out Autopilot in only three cases, with 14 crash deaths reported across these inquiries.
Despite Tesla's website stating that Autopilot requires active driver supervision, critics accuse the company's branding of misleading consumers. Names like Autopilot and "full self-driving software" create a false sense of security, even though the technology remains far from true autonomous driving capabilities.