Tesla Says Car in Fatal Crash Was in Autopilot Mode

Tesla Inc. says one of its Model X electric crossover vehicles was operating in semi-automatic mode in a highway crash in Silicon Valley that killed the driver on March 23.

The company says data recorded by the car showed that the driver, whose hands were off the wheel for five seconds before impact, had a clear view of the road for nearly 500 feet ahead.

The impact tore off the entire front end of the car ahead of the A pillar and triggered a fire, as evidenced by a Reuters photo (left). The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board is investigating.

Local media reports quote relatives of the driver who say he had complained to his Tesla dealer previously about the car veering toward the barrier on the same stretch of expressway.

The fatality is the second reported in the U.S. that involves a Tesla operating in Autopilot mode. The first occurred in May 2016, when a Tesla S sedan slammed into a truck that was crossing the road. The driver had ignored the car’s warning signals, but neither he nor the car braked to avoid the truck.

Tesla’s Autopilot system can automatically keep a car in its lane and maintain a safe following distance behind other traffic on certain types of roads. But Tesla’s operating instructions say the driver must always be ready to quickly resume control.