In November 2021, the criminal statements associated with Tesla’s infamous driver-assistance feature gained even more bad news for the besieged automaker. Tesla’s Autopilot has had a rough rollout so far as it was reported by The Associated Press that California prosecutors have charged a Tesla driver with two counts of vehicular manslaughter after his car slammed into another vehicle, killing two people in 2019.
After an investigation, The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) found that the Vehicle’s Autopilot feature was enabled during this mishap. So once again, this autonomous factor of self-driving has led to some drastic incidents.
The Tesla driver, Kevin George Aziz Riad, was charged for this act in October 2021 but it did not bob up until last week. It is not the first time someone has been charged with manslaughter due to an automated driving system, but for Tesla, it is the first time involving it.
For instance, an Uber driver was charged with negligent extermination in 2020 after their vehicle hit and killed a pedestrian while testing the company’s fully automated driving system. Tesla has attracted the attention of NHTSA many times before this tragic incident. But the administration had begun an investigation of an accident involving a Tesla Model Y after it crashed into another vehicle utilizing its fully Self-Driving feature.
As mentioned, it is just more criticism for Tesla. 19 of the company’s engineers went public having serious concerns about the company’s fully self-driving capabilities. Even the CEO of Tesla, Elon Musk himself admitted that the self-driving capabilities of vehicles are not found much great. Further, it can be read about the Felony Charges are first in a fatal crash involving autopilot.