The investigation found that the 2022 Tesla Model S, which fatally hit a motorcyclist in the United States in April, was in independent driving mode.
Investigators from the Washington State Patrol made the discovery after downloading information from the dashboard camera, according to Capt. Deion Glover, a spokesman for the service. The investigation is still ongoing, he said, and the Snohomish County prosecutor is determining whether charges will be filed in the case.
After the crash in the suburbs about 24 kilometers northeast of Seattle, the driver told the trooper that he was using Tesla’s autopilot system and was looking at his cell phone while the car was moving.
«The next thing he knew, there was an impact, the car lurched forward as he accelerated and collided with the motorcycle in front of him», — the probable cause document said.
The 56-year-old driver was arrested as part of a manslaughter investigation «based on admissions of inattentive driving while on autopilot and distracted driving while using a cell phone». The motorcyclist, 28-year-old Jeffrey Nissen, of Stanwood, Washington, was under the vehicle and was pronounced dead at the scene.
Nissen’s death is at least the second in the United States related to the Tesla Full Self Driving system. A total of 75 accidents involving the system have been detected, but it is not known for certain whether they were caused by the system.
Tesla claims that no system can drive a car completely independently. A human driver must be alert and able to take over at any time.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk said last week that Full Self Driving should work without human supervision by the end of this year. For several years now, the company has been promising to create robotaxi park. During Musk’s Tesla earnings conference call, he admitted that his forecasts on this issue «in the past were overly optimistic».
Elon Musk says Tesla will unveil the Robotaxi at an event on October 10. The event was postponed from August 8 to make changes to the car. Musk previously told investors that Tesla — is not only a car company, but more of a robotics and artificial intelligence company. Many investors invested in it based on the long-term prospects of robotic technology. Musk touted self-driving vehicles as a catalyst for growth for Tesla after Full Self Driving went on sale in late 2015.
Source: Associated Press