Tesla in ‘Full Self-Driving’ Mode Involved in Fatal Seattle Accident, Police Report
A Tesla Model S was reportedly in “Full Self-Driving” (FSD) mode when it struck and killed a 28-year-old motorcyclist near Seattle in April. According to police, the 56-year-old driver was allegedly looking at his cell phone at the time of the incident and has been arrested on suspicion of vehicular homicide.
Tesla’s FSD software, which the company emphasizes requires active driver supervision and does not make vehicles fully autonomous, has come under scrutiny following this incident. This marks at least the second fatality linked to Tesla’s FSD technology, with a previous accident recorded by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) between August 2022 and August 2023.
The NHTSA is currently investigating the crash and has been in contact with local authorities and Tesla for more information. Experts have highlighted potential limitations in Tesla’s camera-based system for detecting obstacles, contrasting it with competitors like Alphabet’s Waymo, which uses additional sensors like lidar.
Sam Abuelsamid, an analyst with Guidehouse Insights, and Raj Rajkumar, a professor at Carnegie Mellon University, pointed out challenges in accurately measuring distances and recognizing various objects under different conditions. Despite these concerns, Tesla CEO Elon Musk remains optimistic about achieving full self-driving capability, recently describing a vision of future vehicles as “tiny mobile lounges.”
Musk’s push for autonomous driving technology continues amid increasing regulatory scrutiny. The NHTSA launched a probe into Tesla’s Autopilot system in August 2021 after several accidents involving the system and stationary emergency vehicles. In December 2023, Tesla issued a recall affecting nearly all its U.S. vehicles to address software issues.
