Tesla’s autopilot was on and driver’s hands were off wheel ahead of fiery crash, report finds

Company has faced increasing scrutiny after a string of crashes

Emergency personnel work a the scene where the Tesla electric SUV crashed into a barrier on US Highway 101 (AP/KTVU)

A Tesla’s autopilot function was engaged in the minutes before a fiery crash that killed its driver in California earlier this year, according to a federal inquiry.

In the roughly 20 minutes before the vehicle slammed into a barrier near Mountain View and burst into flames, the car’s autopilot feature was in “continuous operation”, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) found in its initial investigation.

During the critical 60 seconds leading up to the crash, the NTSB reported, the car’s driver repeatedly placed his hands on the steering wheel.

But six seconds before the accident, evidence suggests the driver had removed his hands from the steering wheel. The vehicle also accelerated in the final three seconds.

“No precrash braking or evasive steering movement” was detected, the NTSB said.

The autopilot system allows Tesla vehicles to travel at the same speed as traffic, change lanes without driver input and execute maneuvers like exiting a freeway or self-parking. The company has warned it is not intended as a substitute for human performance.

“Every driver is responsible for remaining alert and active when using Autopilot, and must be prepared to take action at any time,” the company says in an explanatory note about the function.

In response to a request for comment on the NTSB report, Tesla pointed the Independent to a prior blog post that touted the safety record of its vehicles and warned against abandoning autopilot technology that “unequivocally makes the world safer”.

“The consequences of the public not using Autopilot, because of an inaccurate belief that it is less safe, would be extremely severe,” the post says. “There are about 1.25 million automotive deaths worldwide. If the current safety level of a Tesla vehicle were to be applied, it would mean about 900,000 lives saved per year. We expect the safety level of autonomous cars to be 10 times safer than non-autonomous cars.”

A series of Tesla crashes, some while the vehicles were in autopilot mode, have increased scrutiny on Elon Musk’s company as it looks to roll out its mass-market electric vehicle model.

Mr Musk has disparaged coverage of those crashes, suggesting that the media is singling his company out while ignoring other car accidents.