Tesla Autopilot Allegedly Involved In More Accidents Than Previously Thought

Tesla's Autopilot and Full Self-Driving (FSD) driver assist technologies have allegedly been involved in a disproportionally high number of crashes — both standalone and when compared to rivals — than previously thought, a report claims. Citing data compiled by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), The Washington Post claims that Tesla "is linked to almost all of the deaths" as far as fatal incidents involving driver assistance systems go.

According to the report, so far, Tesla's Autopilot has been involved in 736 crashes, including a total of 17 fatal incidents. Notably, the number of fatal crashes recorded by the NHTSA involving Tesla's tech previously stood at just three, but that number has now unofficially multiplied by more than five times. It appears that CEO Elon Musk's decision to remove the radar sensor from Tesla cars in favor of regular cameras, as well as the wider rollout of the FSD package, may have contributed to a rise in the number of accidents. According to The Post, nearly two-thirds of all Tesla Autopilot and FSD-linked accidents happened in just the last year alone.

Earlier in 2023, a Tesla with the driver assist system enabled was involved in a crash that caused a car pile-up and injured nine people. In 2021, the NTSB also launched an investigation into a Model 3 crash that resulted in the battery pack catching fire and two of the cars' occupants dying from burn injuries. 

Tesla is currently being investigated by the regulatory body, though it maintains that, regardless of the outcome, drivers should stay fully engaged at all times. Tesla also advises drivers to expect to take control over their vehicles even with Autopilot engaged, but there are instances where putting hands back on the steering wheel may not be enough.

One of the best-documented issues plaguing Tesla vehicles — one that has resulted in large-scale recalls — is phantom braking. It's when the car abruptly tries to decelerate, even though there is nothing in front of the vehicle to warrant applying the brakes. The anomaly has been caught on camera, creating a potentially hazardous scenario for the person behind the wheel.

Tesla's troubles are far from over. Musk has suggested on multiple occasions in the past that Tesla's driver assist systems are safer than a human driver. However, a court recently chided Tesla when lawyers argued that Musk's claims on Tesla's tech were deepfake media. Additionally, it was also recently alleged that Tesla's promotional video hawking the tech was staged and that all of it was supposedly overseen by Musk.