WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. auto safety regulators said Wednesday they had identified a 12th crash involving Tesla Inc vehicles that were using advanced driver assistance systems in incidents involving emergency vehicles.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) on Aug. 16 said it had opened a formal safety probe into Tesla driver assistance system Autopilot after 11 crashes.
The 12th occurred in Orlando on Saturday, NHTSA said. The agency sent Tesla an 11-page letter with questions, dated Tuesday, as part of its investigation.
Tesla’s Autopilot handles some driving tasks and allows drivers to keep their hands off the wheel for extended periods. Tesla says Autopilot enables vehicles to steer, accelerate and brake automatically within their lane.
(Reporting by David Shepardson; editing by John Stonestreet)
