New special U.S. probe into Tesla crash over alleged use of Autopilot

On July 8, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said it will launch a new special investigation into the fatal pedestrian crash involving Tesla in California.The crash involved a 2022 Tesla Model S and killed three people (one in California and two in Florida).

It is one of more than 30 accidents involving Tesla vehicles that NHTSA is investigating.The vehicles are suspected of using advanced driver assistance systems such as Autopilot.

NHTSA has launched a special investigation into a recent fatal car crash in California, and an agency spokesperson confirmed to The Verge that the July 6 crash in Florida is also under investigation.

The Florida crash occurred on Interstate 75 south of Gainesville, when a Tesla hit the back of a stationary tractor-trailer parked at a truck stop.

Two drivers and a passenger in the Tesla vehicle were killed at the time, Fox35 reported.A spokesman for NHTSA said the agency was aware of the accident and was in communication with Tesla.

A spokesman for the Florida Highway Patrol said it was unclear whether Autopilot was active at the time of the crash."It is standard operating procedure that our investigators will gather as much information and data as possible in their investigation of this incident."

NHTSA is currently investigating 16 incidents in which Tesla owners using Autopilot slammed into stationary vehicles (mostly parked on the side of the road after breaking down), resulting in 15 injuries and one death.

According to officials, most of these accidents occurred after dark, which may be why Autopilot ignored the on-site warning measures and failed to see the warning lights and signs.The investigation was recently upgraded to an "engineering analysis," the second and final phase of the investigation that preceded a possible recall.

Tesla allegedly tops the U.S. government's list of crashes involving Active Driving Assist, also because it sells far more Level 2 systems than its competitors.Tesla also collects real-time telematics data from customers, which speeds up the reporting process.

From July 20, 2021, to May 21, 2022, there were 273 crashes involving Tesla vehicles using Autopilot, according to NHTSA.Tesla accounted for the majority of the 392 reported accidents during the period.

Before that, Tesla CEO Elon Musk had blamed overconfidence on drivers for accidents involving Autopilot.Musk said in 2018: "When there is a serious accident, almost always, probably all of them on the real plane, is a self-proclaimed 'old driver' user, and the problem is more out of complacency."