A Tesla driver in the U.S. state of Washington is blaming Tesla's assistance system for a bizarre accident. According to local station King 5 News, the driver was traveling in his Tesla on Monday when the vehicle suddenly veered off the road and crashed directly into a garage of a stranger's home. The Redmond Police confirmed the incident and stated that the driver claimed Tesla's autonomous driving system was "faulty" before the crash. No one was injured, and there were no signs of alcohol or drug influence.
A police photo shows the red Tesla wedged in the garage, with the garage door hanging in shreds around the vehicle. The incident recalls similar mishaps with Tesla's assistance systems. Recently, the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) launched an investigation after Teslas with Full Self-Driving (Supervised) repeatedly headed toward approaching trains.
Technical Background
Tesla equips its vehicles with different hardware relevant to assistance systems. The following table shows the key differences between Hardware 3 and 4:While HW4 is already being rolled out in the U.S., approval for Europe has not yet occurred. The systems are currently only certified to Level 2+ – the driver remains responsible at all times.
Reactions and Consequences
The Redmond Police have initiated an investigation. It is currently unclear whether the accident was actually due to a system error or human error. Product liability lawyers are closely watching the case, as it could set precedents for liability concerning assistance systems.The incident comes at a time when Tesla is receiving further approvals for FSD Supervised in Europe – most recently in Belgium and Denmark. Accidents like this could undermine confidence in the technology. More on recent developments in Europe: Tesla FSD Supervised officially launched in Belgium and First Tesla data on FSD Supervised in Netherlands.
Another aspect: Tesla often advertises with images of drivers relaxing while driving – which experts consider dangerous. This ambivalence between advertising and real-world safety remains a point of criticism, as also evident in this case.