Tesla confirms another Autopilot mode crash

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is investigating the May 7 crash in Florida that killed 40-year-old Joshua Brown.

“Neither Autopilot nor the driver noticed the white side of the tractor-trailer against a brightly lit sky, so the brake was not applied”, Tesla said in a blog posting on June 30.

Recently, safety agency has started an investigation into Tesla’s Autopilot technology.

NHTSA said Tesla must comply with its request by August 26 or face penalties of up to $21,000 per day, to a maximum of $105 million. The NTSB, best known for examining airline crashes and train wrecks, has a team of investigators headed to Florida to look into the crash starting Tuesday, said spokeman Christopher O’Neal.

“The error in rushing autonomous vehicle technology into cars and onto public highways without enforceable safety rules was underscored by the recent tragic fatal crash”, the groups said in a Wednesday letter to President Obama. It also can steer the auto to keep it centered in its lane.

The Autopilot software feature, launched in October as a beta, requires driver activation to kick in, but has a fair number of Tesla owners baffled about how to use it, according to Musk.

In the article published by Fortune last week, Carol Loomis reported a Tesla executive said the crash “was not a material fact”.

“If Autopilot is ever proven safe to deploy, Tesla must assume liability for any crashes that occur because the feature is engaged”, they wrote. The agency makes recommendations to regulators and companies about transportation-related safety issues. Meanwhile, ethical questions have emerged about Tesla’s handling of a fatal accident involving its Autopilot semi-autonomous driving mode. It requests Tesla state how many alleged defects the company is aware of that relate to Forward Collision Warning or Automatic Emergency Braking.

Earlier this week, the Securities and Exchange Commission began an investigation into Tesla and whether the company failed to disclose the May Autopilot crash that resulted in the death of the driver.

Tesla says in its statement that the driver had Autopilot switch on an undivided road which the manual “specifically advises against”.

Moreover, Tesla claimed that Pang’s Model X tried alerting him to put both hands back on the wheel, especially when road conditions became uncertain that night. He did not do so and shortly thereafter the vehicle collided with a post on the edge of the roadway. It’s possible that the Model S mistook the trailer for a billboard or road sign, but the minutiae of what went through the system’s electronic brain is still to be determined.