Tesla Driver Charged With Vehicular Homicide for Killing Motorcyclist While Browsing His Phone on Autopilot

This is horrendous.

Driving Distracted

While using Tesla's so-called "Autopilot" capabilities, a Washington man hit and killed a motorcyclist — because he was, apparently, scrolling through his phone while driving.

As the local Everett Herald newspaper reports, a 56-year-old Tesla driver was arrested and charged with vehicular homicide after hitting 28-year-old Jeffrey Nissen with his 2022 Model S, which he was driving in Autopilot at the time.

The driver in question, who has not yet been named publicly, reportedly passed police sobriety tests at the scene. After the cops ascertained that he'd been allegedly using his phone and not paying attention to the road, thus "putting the trust in the machine to drive for him," they arrested him. He was later released on a $100,000 bail, the Herald reports.

Crash and Burn

While he was allegedly scrolling his phone, the Model S is said to have crashed into Nissen, who was ejected from his bike and crushed by the Tesla. The young man was reportedly still pinned under the car when police arrived on the scene.

In the aftermath of the crash, as Seattle's CBS affiliate notes, prosecutors filed probable cause documents against the driver due to the statements he provided police with at the time.

Notably, the crash occurred just a day before Tesla slashed the price of its Full Self-Driving feature from $12,000 to $8,000, the newspaper points out. Its reporting also notes that at least 17 people have been killed during crashes involving Autopilot since 2019.

More on Autopilot: Tesla Settles Suit Accusing Autopilot of Killing Driver Instead of Going to Court