A fatal crash in Washington that claimed the life of a motorcyclist earlier this year was caused by a Tesla vehicle while it was in “full self-driving” mode. The Associated Press reported Washington State Patrol investigators confirmed that a 2022 Tesla Model S involved in the fatal April crash was in self-driving mode according to the car's event data recorder.
The crash happened April 19 on the eastbound side of State Route 522 about 15 miles northeast of Seattle. The unidentified driver told police he had his Tesla in self-driving mode and was looking at his phone at the time of the crash. The vehicle crashed into the rear of the motorcycle, trapping Jeffrey Nissen, 28, underneath the vehicle. Paramedics pronounced Nissen dead at the scene, according to Seattle police. KIRO 7 News.
Elon Musk, Tesla’s CEO, has been making promises about self-driving cars for years. Musk’s promises, coupled with concerns about vehicle safety, led Senator Ed Markey and Richard Blumenthal to send a letter to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) urging them to open an investigation into Tesla’s “deceptive advertising and marketing” practices for its Autopilot and Full Self-Driving modes. Last year, the NHTSA recalled more than 2 million Tesla vehicles due to concerns about driver inattention during Autopilot mode.
Musk also promised “one million robotaxis” in 2019 by the end of the following year. Four years later, the car company is still delaying the unveiling of its robotaxi initiative due to design changes.
The Washington crash occurred just days before the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) concluded a study linking 14 deaths caused by 13 crashes to Tesla vehicles operating in Autopilot mode. The NHTSA report concluded that “Tesla’s weak driver engagement system was not appropriate for the permissive operating capabilities of Autopilot” and that Full Self-Driving mode “did not adequately ensure that drivers maintained their attention on the driving task.”
The Wall Street Journal The NHTSA conducted its own investigation into Tesla's Autopilot mode using data obtained from cars involved in accidents and released its findings on Monday. The video report found that Tesla reported more than 1,000 accidents to the NHTSA since 2016. The data WSJ newspaper Data from 222 of those accidents determined that 44 were in autopilot mode.
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