Tesla was in Full Self-Driving mode when it hit and killed Seattle motorcylist, police say By Reuters
Written by Hyunjoo Jin
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – A Tesla Model S was in “full self-driving” mode when it struck and killed a 28-year-old motorcyclist in the Seattle area in April, police said, making it at least the second fatal accident involving the technology that Tesla Inc. Chief Executive Elon Musk has pinned his hopes on.
The 56-year-old driver was arrested on suspicion of vehicular homicide after admitting he was looking at his mobile phone while using the driver assistance feature, police said in a statement.
“The case is still under investigation,” said Chris Loftis of the Washington State Patrol, adding that drivers are responsible for the safe operation of their vehicles.
Musk this year decided to cancel Tesla’s all-new affordable cars and increased his bets on self-driving vehicles, saying he would be shocked if Tesla couldn’t achieve full self-driving capability next year.
“The most important thing is to achieve full self-driving without supervision,” he said in an interview with the Tesla Owners Club in Silicon Valley last weekend.
He said the future car would be like a “mobile mini lounge” where drivers would be able to watch movies, play video games, work and even drink and sleep.
Musk has been aiming for self-driving capability for several years, as the technology comes under increasing regulatory and legal scrutiny.
Tesla calls its driver-assistance features Autopilot or “supervised” full self-driving, but says they require active driver supervision and do not make its vehicles self-driving.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) previously said there was a fatal crash that occurred between August 2022 and August 2023.
The regulator began investigating Autopilot in August 2021 after identifying more than a dozen incidents in which Tesla vehicles collided with stopped emergency vehicles, and reviewed hundreds of incidents involving Autopilot.
Tesla has been forced to recall nearly all of its vehicles on US roads due to a lack of warranties.
