Tesla in fatal crash ‘was in self-drive mode’

A Tesla which hit and killed a 28-year-old man was using self-drive mode, police have announced.

Authorities in the US say a Tesla car was in a self-drive mode when it killed a 28-year-old man in the US.

Motorcyclist Jeffrey Nissen died in the April crash near Seattle, Washington State.

Captain Deion Glover from Washington State Patrol revealed this week investigators had confirmed the Tesla Model S had been using the “Full Self-Driving” system by downloading information from the event data recorder, according to local media.

The driver, 56, reportedly told police he was looking at his mobile phone when his car hit the motorbike.

He was arrested on suspicion of vehicular homicide.

Tesla’s self-drive mode still requires drivers to be ‘fully attentive’. Picture: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images/AFP

Capt Glover told the Associated Press the investigation was still ongoing and the Snohomish County Prosecutor will determine if there are any charges filed.

The “Full Self-Driving (Supervised)” feature uses cameras to have the car follow the curves in the road, stop at and negotiate intersections, make left and right turns, navigate roundabouts, and enter/exit highways, according to Tesla.

The company does warn the driver must still be “fully attentive” and monitor their surroundings at all times.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk hopes the self-drive system will be run without human supervision by the end of the year. Picture: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images/AFP

It was only last week Associated Press reported Tesla CEO Elon Musk expected the company’s “Full Self-Driving” system to be run without human supervision by the end of the year.

The billionaire made the comments to analysts on a conference call.

Washington State Patrol spokesman Chris Loftis told USA Today that cars with self-driving capabilities are not allowed in Washington “other than those unique situations that are under certified testing arrangements with the Department of Licensing”.

He said currently three companies were certified for testing-only in the state: NVIDIA, Google-owned Waymo, and Amazon-owned Zoox.

Inside a Waymo autonomous vehicle. Picture: Jason Henry / AFP

Every year that Mr Musk has been at the helm of Tesla, the billionaire has promised consumers and fans fully autonomous driving by the end of the following year.

“Elon isn’t as close as he thinks,” Hussein Dia, a professor of future urban mobility at Swinburne University of Technology, told news.com.au last month.

“I think the closest we have come so far is self-driving robo taxis in the US. This is on par with what we call Level 4 driving, where passengers order a car on an app, get in, and are driven to their destination with no driver behind the wheel.”

Tesla’s heavily marketed Autopilot ranks only at Level 2. Under Level 2 conditions, steering and acceleration or deceleration can be controlled by software in some settings, but with the driver remaining in control and on alert at all times.

Tesla says “Full Self-Driving (Supervised)” is meant to work on any type of roadway, including residential and city streets, while its “Traffic-Aware Cruise Control”, “Autosteer”, and “Navigate on Autopilot” systems are intended for use on multi-lane roadways with clear lane markings.

Originally published as Tesla in fatal crash ‘was in self-drive mode’