Tesla—NHTSA found critical safety gap in Tesla Autopilot linked to 467 collisions and 13 fatalities
In April 2024, federal authorities announced that a critical safety gap in Tesla's Autopilot system contributed to at least 467 collisions, 13 of which resulted in fatalities and many others in serious injuries. The findings came from NHTSA's investigation into the Autopilot driver monitoring system, which found that Tesla's approach to ensuring driver attention was fundamentally inadequate.
Scoring Impact
| Topic | Direction | Relevance | Contribution |
|---|---|---|---|
| AI Safety | -against | secondary | -0.50 |
| Consumer Protection | -against | primary | -1.00 |
| Overall incident score = | -0.497 | ||
Score = avg(topic contributions) × significance (critical ×2) × confidence (0.66)× agency (negligent ×0.5)
Evidence (2 signals)
NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation confirmed 65 fatalities linked to Tesla Autopilot systems
NHTSA investigations and expert testimony verified 54 fatalities involving Autopilot and 2 fatalities during FSD engagement after 2022, contributing to a total of 65 verified fatal incidents involving Tesla's automated driving systems as of October 2025.
NHTSA reported Autopilot critical safety gap linked to 467 collisions and 13 deaths
Federal authorities announced findings that a critical safety gap in Tesla's Autopilot driver monitoring system contributed to at least 467 collisions, 13 resulting in fatalities. The investigation found Tesla's approach to ensuring driver attention while Autopilot was engaged was fundamentally inadequate.