A Tesla Model S was traveling at 74 miles per hour in Autopilot mode during the fatal crash in Florida, according to a preliminary federal investigation.
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The driver, 40-year-old Joshua Brown of OH, was using Tesla’s “Autopilot” mode at the time of the deadly crash, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).
Weeks after a fatal Tesla accident involving the company’s semi-autonomous tech sparked probes from federal agencies, Tesla parted ways with Mobileye, the startup that supplies the chips that enable Teslas to recognize images and to work with the car’s Autopilot system, Re/Code reports.
Both the NTSB and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration are investigating the crash, which killed the driver of the Tesla. The NTSB has not yet determined the probable cause of the crash. The posted speed limit in the area was 65 miles per hour.
Matt DeLorenzo, managing editor at Kelley Blue Book, said the end of the Tesla partnership could signal a shift toward more sophisticated driver-assistance systems and away from the camera-based systems peddled by Mobileye.
Tesla believes that the adoption of electric vehicles has been hampered by the high cost of lithium batteries, so it plans to use this factory to drastically boost production. That’s where Brown was driving – US 27 west of Williston – when a tractor-trailer turning left crossed into the car’s path.
“The electric auto manufacturer also emphasized that accident in Florida was the” first known fatality in just over 130 million miles where the Autopilot was activated.
On the other hand, following Mobileye’s breakup announcement, the Wall Street Journal reports that Tesla CEO and founder Elon Musk issued a statement, saying that the split from Mobileye does not affect the future of Tesla’s autopilot development.
The NTSB report said the force of the initial impact of the crash resulted in the battery disengaging from the electric motors powering the vehicle.
Tesla has theorised as to why the Model S forward-facing radar and 12 ultrasonic sensors failed to detect the truck.
The vehicle is equipped with automatic emergency braking.
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In a December blog post, Tesla said Mobileye’s EyeQ3 chip, which is used in the Model S and Model X, “is the best in the world at what it does, and that is why we use it”. While no timeline has been established, final reports are generally published 12 months after the release of a preliminary report.
