A Tesla Model S operating in "Full Self-Driving" mode struck and killed a 28-year-old motorcyclist in the Seattle area in April, according to police reports. This incident marks at least the second fatal accident inv
Courtesy Teslaolving this technology, which Tesla CEO Elon Musk has heavily invested in.
The 56-year-old driver was arrested on suspicion of vehicular homicide after admitting to police that he was looking at his cell phone while using the driver assistance feature.
"The case is still under active investigation," stated Chris Loftis of the Washington State Patrol, emphasizing that drivers are ultimately responsible for the safe operation of their vehicles.
This year, Musk has shifted Tesla's focus away from developing new affordable cars, instead increasing his investment in self-driving technology. He expressed confidence in Tesla's ability to achieve full self-driving capability by next year, saying, "The overwhelmingly important thing is achieving unsupervised full self-driving" in an interview with the Tesla Owners of Silicon Valley club.
For years, Musk has aimed to perfect self-driving technology, despite growing regulatory and legal scrutiny. Tesla markets its driver assistance features as Autopilot or "supervised" Full Self-Driving, but clarifies that these systems require active driver supervision and do not make the vehicles autonomous.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reported one fatal accident involving Tesla's driver assistance features between August 2022 and August 2023. The agency began investigating Autopilot in August 2021 after identifying over a dozen crashes involving Tesla vehicles and stationary emergency vehicles. This probe led to Tesla recalling nearly all its vehicles on U.S. roads due to inadequate safety safeguards.
