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Incident 321: Tesla Model X on Autopilot Crashed into California Highway Barrier, Killing Driver

Responded
Description: A Tesla Model X P100D operating on Autopilot's Traffic-Aware Cruise Control (TACC) and Autosteer system allegedly accelerated above the speed limit of a highway in Mountain View, California, and steered itself directly into a barrier, resulting in its driver’s death.

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Alleged: Tesla developed and deployed an AI system, which harmed Walter Huang's family and Walter Huang.

Incident Stats

Incident ID
321
Report Count
14
Incident Date
2018-03-23
Editors
Khoa Lam
Applied Taxonomies
MIT

MIT Taxonomy Classifications

Machine-Classified
Taxonomy Details

Risk Subdomain

A further 23 subdomains create an accessible and understandable classification of hazards and harms associated with AI
 

7.3. Lack of capability or robustness

Risk Domain

The Domain Taxonomy of AI Risks classifies risks into seven AI risk domains: (1) Discrimination & toxicity, (2) Privacy & security, (3) Misinformation, (4) Malicious actors & misuse, (5) Human-computer interaction, (6) Socioeconomic & environmental harms, and (7) AI system safety, failures & limitations.
 
  1. AI system safety, failures, and limitations

Entity

Which, if any, entity is presented as the main cause of the risk
 

AI

Timing

The stage in the AI lifecycle at which the risk is presented as occurring
 

Post-deployment

Intent

Whether the risk is presented as occurring as an expected or unexpected outcome from pursuing a goal
 

Unintentional

Incident Reports

Reports Timeline

+11
Watch Tesla Autopilot Tackle This ‘Curve of Death’ in Impressive Video
Driver in Fatal Tesla Model X Crash Had Complained about Autopilot+1
In 2018 crash, Tesla’s Autopilot just followed the lane lines - Response
Watch Tesla Autopilot Tackle This ‘Curve of Death’ in Impressive Video

Watch Tesla Autopilot Tackle This ‘Curve of Death’ in Impressive Video

inverse.com

Tesla Model X driver dies in Mountain View crash

Tesla Model X driver dies in Mountain View crash

engadget.com

Tesla car with 'autopilot' function investigated after fatal crash

Tesla car with 'autopilot' function investigated after fatal crash

independent.co.uk

Tesla in fatal California crash was on Autopilot

Tesla in fatal California crash was on Autopilot

bbc.com

Tesla's Self-Driving Autopilot Involved in Another Deadly Crash

Tesla's Self-Driving Autopilot Involved in Another Deadly Crash

wired.com

Tesla says crashed vehicle had been on autopilot prior to accident

Tesla says crashed vehicle had been on autopilot prior to accident

cnbc.com

Tesla car that crashed and killed driver was running on Autopilot, firm says

Tesla car that crashed and killed driver was running on Autopilot, firm says

theguardian.com

Collision Between a Sport Utility Vehicle Operating With Partial Driving Automation and a Crash Attenuator

Collision Between a Sport Utility Vehicle Operating With Partial Driving Automation and a Crash Attenuator

ntsb.gov

Report: Model X In Latest Tesla Autopilot Death Accelerated And Steered Into Barrier

Report: Model X In Latest Tesla Autopilot Death Accelerated And Steered Into Barrier

torquenews.com

Tesla Model X in California Crash Sped Up Seconds Before Impact

Tesla Model X in California Crash Sped Up Seconds Before Impact

bnnbloomberg.ca

NTSB: Tesla driver killed in crash did not have his hands on the wheel

NTSB: Tesla driver killed in crash did not have his hands on the wheel

digitaltrends.com

Driver in Fatal Tesla Model X Crash Had Complained about Autopilot

Driver in Fatal Tesla Model X Crash Had Complained about Autopilot

caranddriver.com

In 2018 crash, Tesla’s Autopilot just followed the lane lines

In 2018 crash, Tesla’s Autopilot just followed the lane lines

washingtonpost.com

Tesla settles suit over 2018 Autopilot crash that killed Apple engineer

Tesla settles suit over 2018 Autopilot crash that killed Apple engineer

washingtonpost.com

Watch Tesla Autopilot Tackle This ‘Curve of Death’ in Impressive Video
inverse.com · 2018

Tesla’s Autopilot is getting smarter. The semi-autonomous driving system, set to form the basis of CEO Elon Musk’s self-driving car ambitions, has been receiving regular software updates to improve the underlying artificial intelligence. Th…

Tesla Model X driver dies in Mountain View crash
engadget.com · 2018

A Tesla vehicle is at the center of another tragic crash, and the company is coming under renewed scrutiny over safety concerns as a result. The driver of a Model X has died after his electric SUV collided with a median barrier on Highway 1…

Tesla car with 'autopilot' function investigated after fatal crash
independent.co.uk · 2018

Tesla has defended its Autopilot driver-assist technology after a probe was launched into a fatal crash involving a Tesla Model X SUV.

The accident took place on the afternoon of Friday 23 March on a motorway in Mountain View, California. T…

Tesla in fatal California crash was on Autopilot
bbc.com · 2018

Electric carmaker Tesla says a vehicle involved in a fatal crash in California was in Autopilot mode, raising further questions about the safety of self-driving technology.

One of the company's Model X cars crashed into a roadside barrier a…

Tesla's Self-Driving Autopilot Involved in Another Deadly Crash
wired.com · 2018

TESLA NOW HAS another fatality to hang on its semi-autonomous driving system. The company just revealed that its Autopilot feature was turned on when a Model X SUV slammed into a concrete highway lane divider and burst into flames on the mo…

Tesla says crashed vehicle had been on autopilot prior to accident
cnbc.com · 2018

Tesla said on Friday that a Tesla Model X involved a fatal crash in California last week had activated its Autopilot system, raising new questions about the semi-autonomous system that handles some driving tasks.

Tesla also said vehicle log…

Tesla car that crashed and killed driver was running on Autopilot, firm says
theguardian.com · 2018

Tesla has said a car that crashed in California last week, killing its driver, was operating on Autopilot.

The 23 March crash on highway 101 in Mountain View is the latest accident to involve self-driving technology. Earlier this month, a s…

Collision Between a Sport Utility Vehicle Operating With Partial Driving Automation and a Crash Attenuator
ntsb.gov · 2018

What Happened

On March 23, 2018, at 9:27 a.m., a 2017 Tesla Model X P100D electric-powered sport utility vehicle (SUV), occupied by a 38-year-old male driver, was traveling south on US Highway 101 (US-101) in Mountain View, Santa Clara Coun…

Report: Model X In Latest Tesla Autopilot Death Accelerated And Steered Into Barrier
torquenews.com · 2018

The National Transportation Safety Board has issued a preliminary report on the Tesla Model X P100D crash that killed its occupant on March 23rd on a highway in California. The report has detailed information on the pre-crash events. Part o…

Tesla Model X in California Crash Sped Up Seconds Before Impact
bnnbloomberg.ca · 2018

(Bloomberg) -- The Tesla Inc. Model X that crashed in California while being guided by its semi-autonomous driving system sped up to 71 miles an hour in the seconds before the vehicle slammed into a highway barrier, investigators said Thurs…

NTSB: Tesla driver killed in crash did not have his hands on the wheel
digitaltrends.com · 2018

On Friday, March 23, a Tesla Model X crashed into a concrete divider on U.S. Highway 101 in Mountain View, California. The driver died as a result of the crash — which occurred despite numerous warnings, the car company said.

Now, the Natio…

Driver in Fatal Tesla Model X Crash Had Complained about Autopilot
caranddriver.com · 2020
  • On March 23, 2018, Walter Huang's 2017 Tesla Model X P100D veered out of its lane and into a center divider. He died from his injuries.
  • National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) documents show that Huang had complained about the feature …
In 2018 crash, Tesla’s Autopilot just followed the lane lines
washingtonpost.com · 2024
Faiz Siddiqui, Trisha Thadani post-incident response

In Tesla's marketing materials, the company's Autopilot driver-assistance system is cast as a technological marvel that uses "advanced cameras, sensors and computing power" to steer, accelerate and brake automatically --- even change lanes …

Tesla settles suit over 2018 Autopilot crash that killed Apple engineer
washingtonpost.com · 2024
Trisha Thadani post-incident response

SAN FRANCISCO --- Tesla has settled a long-running lawsuit over the 2018 death of a former Apple engineer whose vehicle veered off a highway in Northern California, court documents say, avoiding a lengthy jury trial over what role its drive…

Variants

A "variant" is an incident that shares the same causative factors, produces similar harms, and involves the same intelligent systems as a known AI incident. Rather than index variants as entirely separate incidents, we list variations of incidents under the first similar incident submitted to the database. Unlike other submission types to the incident database, variants are not required to have reporting in evidence external to the Incident Database. Learn more from the research paper.

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