Tesla Involved in Another Fatal U.S. Accident

A Tesla Model 3 electric sedan had the Autopilot system once again put in doubt about its operation. The accident occurred in Buena Vista Township, in the US state of New Jersey. At an intersection, the Civic driven by 82-year-old Stephen Field was going to complete a left turn when it was hit by the Model 3 that disrespected a mandatory stop sign. He died, while the driver and three other occupants of the electric car were hospitalized.

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Initially, traffic authorities classified the cause of the collision as human error. However, the American website Electrek, specializing in electric vehicles, found that the autonomous driving system was active and still did not avoid the collision. This was confirmed by the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).

The brand hid some information by claiming “confidential trade secret”, including whether it was allowed to use FSD (Full Autonomous Driving) at the scene of the accident, which, it seems, did not work satisfactorily. This episode, still under investigation since last February, resembles another in which Tesla was forced to honor a compensation of US$ 243 million (R$ 1.244 billion), in 2019, for the death of a pedestrian and serious injuries to another in the city of Key Largo, Florida.

In this lost lawsuit, the manufacturer also claimed that the sentence discouraged technological advances that “could save lives”. But naming the system Total Autonomous Driving ends up conveying overconfidence to buyers of its cars. And the manufacturer continues to use the term FSD.

The victims’ defense proved negligence by the brand for releasing the technology off monitored highways, while Tesla appealed the decision and lost, even claiming again that the sentence discouraged technological advances that save lives. Last year, the Model Y compact crossover (by American standards) was the best-selling model in the world: 1,173,102 units.