Safety regulators are investigating Autopilot's role in 30 Tesla crashes that killed 10 people, report says
- Safety regulators are investigating 30 Tesla crashes where Autopilot was suspected to be in use.
- The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration sent Reuters a full list of crashes under review.
- Of the 30 investigations, regulators have already ruled out Tesla's Autopilot in three crashes.
Safety regulators are investigating the role of Tesla's Autopilot system in 30 crashes that have killed 10 people since 2016, according to a Reuters report published on Thursday.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has previously released details about individual Tesla crash investigations, but this is the first time the agency has sent a full account of all the crashes where an advanced driver assistance system was suspected to have been in use.
According to the report, the NHTSA has already ruled out the Autopilot system - which automates some driving tasks but doesn't grant cars full autonomy - in three Tesla crashes.
The NHTSA published detailed reports on two of the 30 crashes under investigation, Reuters said.
Tesla did not immediately return Insider's request for comment.
The report follows the deaths of two people caused by their Tesla crashing into a tree and bursting into flames in Houston, Texas several weeks ago. According to investigators, nobody was in the driver's seat at the time of the accident, although Tesla chief executive Elon Musk has disputed that claim.
NHTSA previously opened 28 special investigations into Tesla crashes, of which 24 are still pending. Autopilot, which handles some driving tasks, was operating in at least three Tesla vehicles involved in fatal US crashes since 2016, investigators have said, according to Reuters.
Tesla has previously come under fire for Autopilot's misleading name, which critics say overstates the technology's ability and invites drivers to misuse it.