Tesla that crashed into firetruck, killing the driver and critically injuring the passenger, was on autopilot at the time, investigation finds

• A Tesla had crashed into a firetruck in Walnut Creek, California on February 18
• The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said Wednesday investigators suspect the Tesla was on autopilot at time of crash that killed driver
• It’s part of larger investigation of Tesla crashing into parked emergency vehicles

The Tesla that crashed into a firetruck in California last month, killing the driver and critically injuring a passenger, was operating on autopilot at the time.

U.S. investigators with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said Wednesday it has dispatched a special crash investigation team to look into the February 18 crash in Northern California.

Emergency responders had to cut open the Tesla to remove the passenger following the deadly crash. Four Contra Costa County firefighters had minor injuries.

The probe is part of a larger investigation by the agency into multiple instances of Teslas on Autopilot crashing into parked emergency vehicles that are tending to other crashes.

U.S. investigators suspect the Tesla that crashed into a firetruck in California on February 18, killing the driver and critically injuring a passenger, was operating on autopilot at the time

A damaged Contra Costa County fire truck is prepped for towing after it was struck by a Tesla

The $1.4 million ladder truck was damaged in the crash on Interstate 680. The truck was parked to shield a crew clearing another accident, fire officials said.

The driver of the the 2014 Tesla Model S was declared dead at the scene.

NHTSA is investigating how Tesla’s Autopilot system detects and responds to emergency vehicles parked on highways. At least 15 Teslas have crashed into emergency vehicles nationwide while using the system.

Authorities said the truck had its lights on and was parked diagonally on northbound lanes of the freeway to protect responders to an earlier accident that did not result in injuries.

The fatal accident occurred around 4 a.m., and it took several hours to clear the freeway. The firetruck had to be towed away.

The car plowed into the fire truck which had been parked on a Northern California freeway to shield a crew clearing another accident on the interstate

The Tesla Model-S vehicle was completely destroyed in the crash

The problem is expected to be rectified by the online software update in the coming weeks

The Model S was among the nearly 363,000 vehicles Tesla recalled in February because of potential flaws in ‘Full Self-Driving’ a more sophisticated partially automated driving system.

The recall, to be done with an online software update, is aimed at correcting possible problems at intersections and with speed limits. 

Despite their names, Tesla has said both systems are advanced driver assist systems and that human drivers must be ready to intervene at all times.

Messages were left Wednesday seeking comment from Tesla, which has disbanded its public relations department.

In total 362,758 of the expensive vehicles are being recalled, with CEO Elon Musk yet to comment on the announcement 

CEO Elon Musk hit out at the claims, responding to a post on Twitter saying: ‘The word ‘recall’ for an over-the-air software update is anachronistic and just flat wrong!’

Elon Musk stated in 2016 that the vehicle’s ‘Autopilot’ system was ‘probably better’ than a human driver, despite recent tests indicating cars failed to detect mannequin children multiple times.

A probe into more than 830,000 of the company’s vehicles and its complementary advertising leads investigators wondering whether Tesla misled consumers, investors and regulators over unsupported claims regarding the feature.

Just before the February crash, Tesla announced that it would recall 363,000 of its vehicles, including the Model S, due to potential issues with their self-driving capabilities.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said that the Full Self-Driving Beta software allows the vehicle to ‘exceed speed limits’. 

It is also claimed that the cars ‘travel through intersections in an unlawful or unpredictable manner increases the risk of a crash.’

Musk hit out at the claims, responding to a post on Twitter saying: ‘The word ‘recall’ for an over-the-air software update is anachronistic and just flat wrong!’ 

A 2016 video that Tesla used to promote its self-driving technology was staged to show capabilities like stopping at a red light and accelerating at a green light that the system did not have, according to testimony by a senior engineer. 

The investigation started after 16 Tesla vehicles crashed while drivers used ‘Autopilot’ feature

A driver rides hands-free in a Tesla Motors Inc. Model S vehicle equipped with Autopilot

The testimony was part of a July deposition taken as evidence in a lawsuit against Tesla for a 2018 fatal crash involving a former Apple engineer.

Speaking to CNBC’s Squawk Box Wozniak said of the self-driving software: ‘It makes mistakes all the time. It’s a horrible, frightening experience.

‘My life has been based on total honesty. Everything you say is totally honest. You don’t hide things, you don’t describe things, you don’t make things up to make yourself seem better. 

‘A lot of honesty disappears when you look at Elon Musk and Tesla.’

Wozniak, asked whether he thought Musk and Jobs were similar. He said they both were leaders of ‘a cult’ – which he felt was dangerous.

In 2019, Musk claimed that Teslas would turn into ‘robotaxis’ which were so advanced their owners ‘could go to sleep’ in the vehicle while it chauffeurs them around.

Ashok Elluswamy, director of Autopilot software at Tesla, said in the July transcript that Musk ordered the 2016 video to promote self-driving, even though it was not ready.

The video carries a tagline saying: ‘The person in the driver’s seat is only there for legal reasons. He is not doing anything. The car is driving itself.’

Elluswamy said Tesla’s Autopilot team set out to engineer and record a ‘demonstration of the system’s capabilities’ at the request of Musk.

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