--- title: "Overwhelming Majority of Automated Driving Deaths Caused by Tesla Vehicles" description: "New data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration indicates that all ten automated driving deaths since May involved Teslas." date: "2022-10-19" modified: "2022-10-19" authors: - name: "Frank Landymore" job_title: "Contributing Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/flandymore" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/automated-driving-deaths-tesla-vehicles" categories: - "Advanced Transport" - "Tesla" tags: - "autopilot" - "full self-driving" - "tesla" - "the digest" --- # Overwhelming Majority of Automated Driving Deaths Caused by Tesla Vehicles ![New data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration indicates that all ten automated driving deaths since May involved Teslas.]() *\Image: Getty Images/Futurism\* ## Crash and Burn According to [new data]() from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) released on Monday, which was [examined by the *Associated Press*](), ten people were killed in crashes involving vehicles using automated driving systems between May and September this year. Of those ten deaths, all of them involved Tesla vehicles, a damning revelation for the Elon Musk-led company. However, it's currently undetermined whether automated driving features themselves or the human driver was at fault in each case. Four of those crashes involved motorcycles, which according to the *AP*, is symptomatic of a broader increase in fatal motorcyclist crashes involving Tesla's Autopilot and its [misleadingly named]() "Full Self-Driving" feature. "I think there's a pretty clear pattern of bad behavior on the part of Tesla when it comes to obeying the edicts of the (federal) safety act, and NHTSA is just sitting there," Michael Brooks, executive director of Center for Auto Safety, told the *AP*. "How many more deaths do we need to see of motorcyclists?" ## Impending Action Brooks' outrage is not unwarranted, given how long the federal regulator and other agencies have monitored Tesla's safety, and how early it became apparent that the automaker's autonomous and assisted driving technology may not be safe or reliable enough in many environments. Notably, the NHTSA finally [opened its investigation into Tesla's Autopilot]() last year after vehicles equipped with the technology repeatedly plowed into parked emergency vehicles that were flashing their lights, occurring as far back as 2018. It has since [widened the scope of its investigation]() in 2022, inching closer to a potential recall of epic proportions. In 2020, the National Transportation Safety Board (NHTB), an independent federal agency, recommended that the NHTSA and Tesla [should limit Autopilot's use]() to areas where it could safely function and that the automaker should implement better systems to ensure drivers aren't distracted, according to *AP*. So far, nothing has materialized from those recommendations. ## Weak Defense In Tesla's defense, as the NHTSA notes, the automaker sends in real-time crash reports while many other automakers don't, although almost all of them [have been instructed to report crashes]() involving autonomous driving technology within a day anyway. But even with that in mind, that plausible facet of deniability seems overshadowed by other damning statistics, like [42 percent of Autopilot drivers]() believing their cars can entirely drive themselves. "You're seeing innocent people who had no choice in the matter being killed or injured," Brooks told the *AP*. **More on Tesla:** *[Video Shows Tesla Semi Truck Seemingly Broken Down Near a Highway]()* ## Author At Futurism, my work has often centered on bringing a sense of clarity and insight to complex topics ranging from the regulation of emerging technologies to the esoteric ideologies of Silicon Valley executives, while striving not to lose the poetic sense of awe inspired by often-obscure fields like astrophysics and quantum computing. I broke the story of CNET using AI to produce articles that turned out to be riddled with factual errors and plagiarism — a dam-breaking inflection point, as I've reported, that's inspired copycats and endless discourse while beguiling stakeholders ranging from tech giants to purveyors of spam around the web. My work at Futurism has been cited by publications including CBS News, the Los Angeles Times, Vice, Gizmodo, Engadget, the Verge, and Vanity Fair. I grew up in locales ranging from India to China, and now live in the exotic suburbs of Virginia. In my free time, I'm an avid reader of weird sci-fi literature, an aficionado of East Asian cinema, and, regrettably, a relapsed gamer. Allegedly, I’m working on a debut novel, currently untitled. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()