The
Thanksgiving Day crash on Interstate-80 near Treasure Island
resulted in two juveniles being transported to a local hospital
for treatment of minor injuries and led to lengthy delays on the
bridge.
Chief Executive Elon Musk has touted Tesla "Full Self-Driving"
software as a potential cash cow for the world's biggest
electric carmaker. But Tesla's advanced driver assistance
systems - and Musk's claims about them - face growing legal,
regulatory and public scrutiny.
Tesla sells the $15,000 FSD software as an ad-on which enables
its vehicles to change lanes and park autonomously. That
complements its standard "Autopilot" feature, which enables cars
to steer, accelerate and brake within their lanes without driver
intervention.
The Tesla driver told police the FSD malfunctioned but police
were unable to determine if the software was in operation or if
his statement was accurate, according to the report which was
made public after a Reuters request.
The police report said the vehicle made an unsafe lane change
and was slowing to a stop, which led to another vehicle hitting
the Tesla and a chain reaction of additional crashes.
The police report said if FSD malfunctioned, the driver should
have manually taken control of the vehicle.
Tesla did not respond to a request for comment.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA),
which has been investigating the automaker's advanced driver
assistance systems, did not comment.
Tesla's says "Full Self-Driving" gives access to more advanced
driver assistance features but emphasizes "all Tesla vehicles
require active driver supervision and are not autonomous."
National Transportation Safety Board chair Jennifer Homendy has
questioned Tesla's marketing the feature as "full self-driving,"
when it is incapable of that and said Tesla must do more to
ensure people do not misuse the feature.
(Reporting by David Shepardson and Hyunjoo Jin; Editing by
Lincoln Feast.)
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