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Incident 337: Tesla Model S on ACC Crashed into Tree in Texas, Killing Two People

Description: A 2019 Tesla Model S was reportedly traveling on Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC) at high speed before crashing into a tree near The Woodlands in Spring, Texas, killing two people.

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Entities

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Alleged: Tesla developed and deployed an AI system, which harmed William Varner and unnamed passenger.

Incident Stats

Incident ID
337
Report Count
9
Incident Date
2021-04-17
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
 

5.1. Overreliance and unsafe use

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. Human-Computer Interaction

Entity

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

Human

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
 

Intentional

Incident Reports

Reports Timeline

Incident Occurrence+2
2 Killed in Driverless Tesla Car Crash, Officials Say
+1
Elon Musk refutes initial findings from deadly Tesla Model S crash
Fatal Tesla Crash In Texas: What We Know And What We Don’t+1
Tesla claims someone was in the driver’s seat in deadly Texas crash
Tesla releases more details about fatal crash in Texas, but there are still a lot of questions unanswered
2 Killed in Driverless Tesla Car Crash, Officials Say

2 Killed in Driverless Tesla Car Crash, Officials Say

nytimes.com

‘No one was driving the car’: 2 men dead after fiery Tesla crash near The Woodlands, officials say

‘No one was driving the car’: 2 men dead after fiery Tesla crash near The Woodlands, officials say

click2houston.com

Deadly Texas crash involving Tesla worth $80,000 sparks 4-hour fire

Deadly Texas crash involving Tesla worth $80,000 sparks 4-hour fire

foxbusiness.com

Elon Musk refutes initial findings from deadly Tesla Model S crash

Elon Musk refutes initial findings from deadly Tesla Model S crash

cnet.com

A Fatal Crash Renews Concerns Over Tesla’s ‘Autopilot’ Claim

A Fatal Crash Renews Concerns Over Tesla’s ‘Autopilot’ Claim

wired.com

Fatal Tesla Crash In Texas: What We Know And What We Don’t

Fatal Tesla Crash In Texas: What We Know And What We Don’t

forbes.com

Tesla claims someone was in the driver’s seat in deadly Texas crash

Tesla claims someone was in the driver’s seat in deadly Texas crash

theverge.com

Tesla claims deadly Texas car crash may have had passenger behind the wheel

Tesla claims deadly Texas car crash may have had passenger behind the wheel

foxbusiness.com

Tesla releases more details about fatal crash in Texas, but there are still a lot of questions unanswered

Tesla releases more details about fatal crash in Texas, but there are still a lot of questions unanswered

electrek.co

2 Killed in Driverless Tesla Car Crash, Officials Say
nytimes.com · 2021

Two men were killed in Texas after a Tesla they were in crashed on Saturday and caught fire with neither of the men behind the wheel, the authorities said.

Mark Herman, the Harris County Precinct 4 constable, said that physical evidence fro…

‘No one was driving the car’: 2 men dead after fiery Tesla crash near The Woodlands, officials say
click2houston.com · 2021

HOUSTON – A Memorial Hermann doctor has been identified as one of two men killed when the Tesla they were in crashed into a tree. The accident has made national headlines because local officials investigating the accident say no one was dri…

Deadly Texas crash involving Tesla worth $80,000 sparks 4-hour fire
foxbusiness.com · 2021

Authorities near Houston, Texas are investigating a horrifying and deadly crash scene involving what deputies believe was a driverless Tesla on Autopilot that sparked a raging four hour fire, killing two people inside.

Deputies say that a f…

Elon Musk refutes initial findings from deadly Tesla Model S crash
cnet.com · 2021

A crash involving a Tesla Model S left two people dead Sunday after the car collided with a tree and caught fire, according to local NBC News affiliate KPRC 2 in Spring, Texas. Authorities say an investigation into the crash is ongoing, tho…

A Fatal Crash Renews Concerns Over Tesla’s ‘Autopilot’ Claim
wired.com · 2021

Tesla offers a $10,000 feature called Full Self-Driving Capability. It includes futuristic goodies like the ability to summon the car via app in a parking lot, and it can detect and react to traffic lights and stop signs. FSD, as Tesla enth…

Fatal Tesla Crash In Texas: What We Know And What We Don’t
forbes.com · 2021

There has been a great deal of attention on a fiery fatal crash in a Tesla Model S in the suburbs of Houston. This is because the police reported that nobody was in the driver’s seat of the vehicle, but the remains of two men were found in …

Tesla claims someone was in the driver’s seat in deadly Texas crash
theverge.com · 2021

A Tesla Model S that crashed and caught fire recently in Texas, killing two men, may have had someone in the driver’s seat, according to Tesla’s top executives. Their comments in an earnings call Monday contradict statements made by local l…

Tesla claims deadly Texas car crash may have had passenger behind the wheel
foxbusiness.com · 2021

Tesla CEO Elon Musk doubled down Monday on his previous claim that the electric vehicle's Autopilot feature did not play a role in a fatal crash in Texas earlier this month that killed two people. 

Musk reiterated his criticism of media rep…

Tesla releases more details about fatal crash in Texas, but there are still a lot of questions unanswered
electrek.co · 2021

Tesla has released more details about the fatal crash in Texas that has captivated the media over the last week.

While Tesla released more information following an investigation with local authorities, ther are still a lot of questions unan…

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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