Tesla's FSD Mode Involved in Fatal Accident in Washington State
TapTechNews July 31 news, authorities in the US state of Washington said on Tuesday that a Tesla vehicle that struck and killed a motorcyclist near Seattle in April this year was determined to be in the Full Self-Driving (FSD) mode at the time of the accident.
Investigators confirmed this fact after downloading information from the event data recorder on this 2022 Tesla Model S. The driver at fault has been arrested, because he admitted to being inattentive while driving in the FSD mode and being distracted using his phone while moving forward, believing the machine would drive for him. A spokesman for the Washington State Highway Patrol said the case is still under investigation and no charges have been filed so far.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk said last week that by the end of this year, the FSD system will be able to operate without supervision. He has promised to launch a fleet of driverless taxis for many years. But in the recent earnings call, he admitted that his past predictions were too optimistic.
The accident happened in a suburb about 24 kilometers (about 15 miles) northeast of Seattle. The 28-year-old motorcyclist who died, Jeffrey Nissen from Stanwood, Washington, was found stuck under the car and died on the spot.
According to TapTechNews, Tesla has two partial self-driving systems: FSD can handle many driving tasks in various road conditions including urban streets; while Autopilot can keep the vehicle in the lane and avoid obstacles ahead. Sometimes Tesla owners confuse these two names.
Tesla says neither of these systems can achieve full self-driving currently, and drivers must be ready to take over the vehicle's control at all times. The FSD system is being tested on public roads by some Tesla owners, and the company recently called it FSDSupervised.
Musk said the company will launch a dedicated driverless taxi on October 10, which will use this system. Previously, this event was postponed from August 8 to October 10 because Musk wanted to make modifications to the vehicle.
Musk has always told investors that Tesla is more like a robotics and AI company rather than a car company, and many investors have invested in the company based on the long-term prospects of robotics technology.