Tesla's Autopilot Has Had Its First Deadly Crash

A Tesla Model S driver using the car's semi-autonomous Autopilot feature died when the car hit an 18-wheeler, the first known fatality involving technology that remains in beta testing. The collision occurred May 7 when the big-rig made a left turn in from of the Model S at an intersection on a divided highway in Williston, Florida. "Neither Autopilot nor the driver noticed the white side of the tractor trailer against a brightly lit sky, so the brake was not applied" and the car drove under the trailer, the automaker said today. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration sent a Special Crash Investigations Team to examine the vehicle and the crash scene. Experts from the agency's Office of Defects Investigation plan to examine the design and performance of the Autopilot system.