Authorities in Washington state have revealed that a Tesla involved in a fatal crash near Seattle in April was using the company’s “Full Self Driving” system at the time of the incident. The Washington State Patrol investigators extracted data from the event-data recorder of the 2022 Tesla Model S, confirming the vehicle’s autonomous mode during the accident. The investigation into the crash is ongoing, with no charges filed as of now, according to agency spokesman Capt. Deion Glover.
Tesla’s CEO, Elon Musk, recently stated that the “Full Self Driving” system should be capable of operating without human supervision by the end of the year. Musk has been optimistic about the development of autonomous driving technology, including the vision of a fleet of robotaxis. However, he acknowledged during a company earnings call that his previous predictions on this matter had been overly ambitious.
Following the collision in a suburban area northeast of Seattle, the driver informed a trooper that he was utilizing Tesla’s Autopilot mode and had glanced at his cellphone while the car was in motion. Subsequently, the vehicle accelerated, leading to a collision with a motorcyclist in front of him. The 56-year-old driver was arrested on suspicion of vehicular homicide due to his admitted inattention to driving while relying on Autopilot and being distracted by a cellphone.
The motorcyclist involved in the crash, Jeffrey Nissen, 28, from Stanwood, Washington, was tragically pronounced dead at the scene after being struck by the Tesla. The details of the investigation and the circumstances surrounding the crash continue to be examined by authorities in Washington state.
