Tesla Model 3's Autopilot under scanner again after fatal crash. Details here

Tesla's muck-talked Autopilot software is again under the scanner as the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has launched a probe after a Tesla Model 3 collided with another car head-on in California. The accident killed the driver of the other car as well as a three-month-old baby too. NHTSA is investigating the possible involvement of Tesla's advanced driver assistance system in the accident, which is popularly known as Autopilot.

The NHTSA has announced that it was opening a special crash investigation into the fatal accident that involved a 2018 Tesla Model 3 electric compact sedan. The EV was suspected of having relied on Autopilot around the time of the accident. This comes as the latest addition to the list of several investigations launched against Tesla's Autopilot technology by NHTSA. Since 2016, more than 36 probes have been launched against the Autopilot. Also, the software has been suspected to be involved in 20 deaths, reports Reuters.

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Earlier in March of 2023, NHTSA announced that it would be looking into two fatal crashes. One of them involved a 2014 Tesla Model S, which crashed into a fire truck. In another incident, a Tesla Model Y hit and killed a 17-year-old student who was getting off a school bus.

Tesla's Autopilot software has remained in the headlines since its launch. In many cases, it has been found that drivers were relying on this semi-autonomous driving technology, which resulted in fatal crashes, killing either the occupants of the vehicle or others. These incidents have resulted in the Autopilot being the subject of defect probes launched by NHTSA. Tesla itself has said it many times that the Autopilot is not a fully autonomous self-driving technology. It comes as a driver assistance technology and requires driver's intervention.