Tesla involved in fatal Washington crash was using self-driving mode

A deadly crash in Washington that took the life of a motorcyclist earlier this year was caused by a Tesla vehicle while it was in “Full Self Driving” mode. The Associated Press reported that investigators from the Washington State Patrol confirmed that a 2022 Tesla Model S involved in the fatal collision in April was in self-driving mode from the car’s event-data recorder.

The crash occurred on April 19 on the eastbound side of State Route 522 approximately 15 miles northeast of Seattle. The unidentified driver told police he had his Tesla’s self-driving mode on and was looking at his phone at the time of the crash. The vehicle crashed into the back of the motorcycle pinning Jeffrey Nissen, 28, underneath the vehicle. Paramedics pronounced Nissen dead at the scene, according to Seattle-based KIRO 7 News.

Tesla chief executive officer Elon Musk has been making promises for autonomous cars for years now. Musk’s promises coupled with vehicle safety concerns prompted Sen. Ed Markey and Richard Blumenthal to issue a letter to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) urging them to open an investigation into Tesla’s “misleading advertising and marketing” practices for its Autopilot and Full Self-Driving modes. Last year, the NHTSA recalled over 2 million Tesla vehicles due to concerns about driver inattention during Autopilot mode.

Musk also promised “one million robotaxis” in 2019 by the end of the following year. Four years later, the car company is still delaying the unveiling of its robotaxi initiative due to design changes.

The Washington incident happened just a few days before the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) concluded a review that linked 14 deaths caused by 13 crashes to Tesla vehicles operating in Autopilot mode. The NHTSA’s report concluded that “Tesla’s weak driver engagement system was not appropriate for Autopilot’s permissive operating capabilities” and the Full Self-Driving mode “did not adequately ensure that drivers maintained their attention on the driving task.”

The Wall Street Journal conducted its own investigation into Tesla’s Autopilot mode using data obtained from cars involved in accidents and published its findings on Monday. The video report found that Tesla reported over 1,000 crashes to the NHTSA since 2016. The data the WSJ obtained from 222 of those crashes determined that 44 were in Autopilot mode.