US Regulators Confirm Tesla Tragedy Was Not Fault of Autonomous Technology

The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration released a report this week following the closing of an investigation into a death that involved a Tesla operating on Autopilot software.

The US regulator concluded that Tesla’s autonomous driving technology was not at fault for the accident. Indeed, the human driver’s decisions led to the fatality.

“NHTSA’s examination did not identify any defects in the design or performance of the AEB or Autopilot systems of the subject vehicles nor any incidents in which the systems did not perform as designed,” the report states. “A safety-related defect trend has not been identified at this time and further examination of this issue does not appear to be warranted.”

Moreover, the US regulator praised Tesla’s efforts to ensure humans are actively alert even while driving on Autopilot mode, and credited the company for implementing sufficient emergency safety measures.