Another blow for Elon Musk’s brand and its decried automated driving system. A report released Wednesday by the US Highway Safety Agency (NHTSA) indicates that Teslas equipped with self-driving software have been involved in 273 accidents in the United States.
The report focuses on vehicles with so-called Level 2 software, which is software that can accelerate or decelerate the car and turn the steering wheel if necessary, but requires an attentive driver who is ready to regain control at any time.
In total, Tesla models were the subject of nearly 70% of the reports of the 392 accidents listed, for almost all between July 2021 and mid-May 2022, according to the NHTSA, which is currently investigating Autopilot, the system of driving assistance from the American manufacturer.
Autopilot is supposed to help the driver follow the trajectory of the road and keep the right distance from other vehicles, but Tesla makes it clear that the driver must remain vigilant at all times.
To be counted, an accident must have occurred when the driving assistant had been activated at some time during the previous 30 seconds. Another criterion, the incident must have involved either a pedestrian or a two-wheeler (bicycle or motorcycle), or the transport to the hospital of an individual, or have caused the triggering of the airbag or have required the removal of the vehicle.
A figure to be taken with tweezers
Elon Musk’s brand has therefore caused many more accidents than Honda vehicles, which come in second place with 90 reports for the Japanese brand. But the NHTSA reminds that the number of accidents must be related to that of the manufacturer’s vehicles equipped with a driving assistance system, but Tesla is, by far, the brand which has the largest fleet of this type in the United States (830,000 according to the New York Times).
The figure must nevertheless be taken with tweezers. The agency specified that the same accident could have been the subject of several reports. The figures published on Wednesday are therefore “not significant data in terms of security”, concluded the agency.
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Yet NHTSA recently expanded an investigation, which began last summer, into the potential link between Tesla’s driver assistance system and a series of crashes with emergency vehicles. The investigation moved from preliminary assessment to engineering analysis, the last step before a possible recall. Asked by AFP, Tesla did not respond immediately.
The manufacturer regularly announces the recall of some of its models for technical failures. In April, the brand announced the massive recall of Tesla Model S and Model 3 in France due to accident risks. In December, a brand vehicle was involved in a spectacular accident in the 13th arrondissement of Paris, causing the death of one person and injuring around twenty people.