Tesla driver who caused fatal crash told police he was using Autopilot and on his phone

A Tesla driver who claimed to be using the Autopilot driving system hit and killed a motorcyclist near Seattle, Washington last week.

After the crash, the driver of the 2022 Tesla Model S told a Washington State Patrol trooper that he was using Autopilot and looking at his phone while the car was moving.

“The next thing he knew there was a bang and the vehicle lurched forward as it accelerated and collided with the motorcycle in front of him," the trooper wrote in a probable-cause document.

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The 56-year-old driver has been arrested for vehicular homicide “based on the admitted inattention to driving, while on Autopilot mode, and the distraction of the cell phone while moving forward, putting trust in the machine to drive for him,” the affidavit said.

The motorcyclist who was hit was pronounced dead on the scene, around 15 miles northeast of Seattle.

However, authorities haven't yet independently verified whether Autopilot was actually being used before the crash. “We have not gotten that far yet. It’s very early stages of the investigation,” Washington State Patrol Capt. Deion Glover said.

The incident comes around four months after US auto safety regulators pressured Tesla into recalling over 2 million vehicles, to fix a defective system that's supposed to make sure drivers pay attention when using Autopilot.

Autopilot isn't when the car drives itself - instead, it can keep the vehicle centered in its lane and a suitable distance from anything in front of it. The monitoring system sends alerts to drivers if it can't detect torque from hands on the steering wheel, which experts have described as inadequate - instead saying that it should have infrared cameras to make sure drivers have their eyes on the road.

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In December, Tesla agreed to update the Autopilot software to increase warnings and alerts to drivers.

It's not known whether the Tesla involved in the Washington crash got the software update, but documents filed by Tesla with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration say most newer Teslas have software that would automatically include it.

Kelly Funkhouser, associate director of vehicle technology for Consumer Reports, said she thought that the software update automatically went to most Teslas - but added that the cameras could be covered up by drivers without any consequences.

Tesla has been contacted for comment.