An investigation has been launched after a driver died in a crash involving a Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) Model S automatic car.
The incident is the first reported death caused by self-driving technology, after former Navy SEAL Joshua Brown collided with a tractor trailer while using the vehicle’s autopilot mode.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is opening a preliminary evaluation into the performance of the car’s autopilot feature.
Thursday night Tesla founder Elon Musk tweeted that it was a “tragic loss” and shared the company’s official statement.
The electric car maker said it was likely neither the driver nor the autopilot detected the trailer against bright sunlight, and therefore the brake was not applied.
“Had the Model S impacted the front or rear of the trailer, even at high speed, its advanced crash safety system would likely have prevented serious injury as it has in numerous other similar incidents,” read the statement.
Tesla said it was the first known fatality in over 130mln miles driven by the automatic vehicles. Among all vehicles in the US, there is a fatality every 94mln miles.
“It is important to emphasize that the NHTSA action is simply a preliminary evaluation to determine whether the system worked according to expectations,” Tesla was keen to point out.
The statement also highlighted the existing warnings issued to drivers using the feature.
Every time autopilot is engaged, said the statement, the on-board computer prompts the driver to “always keep your hands on the wheel. Be prepared to take over at any time.”
The release went on: “As more real-world miles accumulate and the software logic accounts for increasingly rare events, the probability of injury will keep decreasing. Autopilot is getting better all the time, but it is not perfect and still requires the driver to remain alert.”
Tesla shares fell 4% following news of the crash.