NHTSA investigating Tesla Autopilot after yet another fatal crash
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Tesla's Autopilot driver assistance feature is the subject of yet another federal safety investigation. Although the details are scarce, Reuters reports that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has opened an investigation into a fatal crash in California involving a 2018 Tesla Model 3 sedan. This follows another safety investigation that was opened by NHTSA in March concerning a fatal crash of a 2014 Tesla Model S, also in California.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk has often claimed that the cars his company makes are the "safest car[s] on the road," but there have been hundreds of fatal crashes involving Tesla electric vehicles since 2013, and at least 32 deaths in the US and another three abroad have occurred while Autopilot was active.
On its website, Tesla promotes Autopilot as a safety feature, writing: