The driver of a Tesla in Florida recently died after his vehicle, which was using the company’s Autopilot feature, left the roadway and entered a pond, according to multiple reports.
The crash happened on May 26, around 8:10 p.m. in Tampa, reported local TV stations Fox 13 Tampa and CBS Tampa 10.
Investigators with the Florida Highway Patrol said an 87-year-old man was driving a Tesla Model Y when the vehicle veered off the road, struck an electrical box, and continued into a pond, where it became submerged. The speed limit in the area is 30 mph.
Emergency responders transported both occupants in the Tesla to a hospital. The driver later died, while a 75-year-old woman passenger survived with non-life-threatening injuries.
According to the highway patrol, the vehicle was operating in Autopilot mode; however, officials have not explained how that determination was made or what may have caused it to leave the roadway. The investigation remains ongoing, and authorities have not released the identities of those involved.
Also, the highway patrol has not said whether speed, medical conditions or system behavior may have contributed to the crash. Additionally, it’s unclear how long the vehicle was submerged before rescue crews arrived.
USA TODAY contacted the Florida Highway Patrol for additional details on the crash and its Autopilot determination, and reached out to Tesla for comment. As of May 28, neither has responded.
Prior Tesla Autopilot Case Highlights Legal Scrutiny
The Florida crash comes as Tesla continues to face legal scrutiny over its Autopilot system.
In a separate case reported by Reuters, a federal judge recently upheld a $243 million jury verdict tied to a 2019 crash in Florida involving an Autopilot-equipped Tesla Model S. That crash killed a 22-year-old woman and seriously injured her boyfriend after a vehicle ran through an intersection in Key Largo.
U.S. District Judge Beth Bloom ruled the evidence “more than supports” the jury’s findings, which assigned partial responsibility to Tesla after George McGee drove his 2019 Model S through an intersection and crashed into an SUV that was parked on the shoulder. Jurors awarded $200 million in punitive damages to two people, including Naibel Benavides Leon, who was killed in the crash, and Dillon Angulo. The jury determined that the Autopilot system played a role alongside driver behavior in the deadly crash.
During the trial, Tesla argued the driver should bear sole responsibility. The company, which said it plans to appeal, has maintained that its vehicles are not designed to make drivers complacent and that Autopilot requires supervision.
Tesla has faced multiple lawsuits involving its driver-assistance systems, though many have been settled or dismissed before trial. CEO Elon Musk has long promoted the company’s autonomous driving capabilities as central to its future.
“Ten years from now, probably 90% of all distance driven will be driven by the AI in a self-driving car. It will be quite a niche thing in 10 years to actually be driving your own car,” Musk said during a video appearance at the Samson International Smart Mobility Summit in Tel Aviv on May 18.
NHTSA’s Probe into Tesla’s Full Self-Driving Software
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration initially announced a probe into Tesla’s Full Self-Driving (FSD) software in October 2024, and on March 19, its investigation expanded. The NHTSA expanded the parameters of its probe to include more cars and potential incidents involving the software.
NHTSA said the expanded probe covered roughly 3.2 million cars and six more possibly related accidents that its initial 2024 investigation did not. The agency’s initial probe covered 2.4 million Tesla vehicles and referenced seven potentially related crashes.
According to the NHTSA, the now-expanded probe allowed the agency’s regulators to gather more information about Tesla’s updated visibility degradation detection system — a safety feature designed to monitor environmental conditions.
“Available incident data raise concerns that Tesla’s degradation detection system, both as originally deployed and later updated, fails to detect and/or warn the driver appropriately under degraded visibility conditions such as glare and airborne obscurants,” the agency said.
The NHTSA added that in accidents its Office of Defects Investigation reviewed, Tesla’s FSD system “did not detect common roadway conditions that impaired camera visibility and/or provide alerts when camera performance had deteriorated until immediately before the crash occurred.”
In April, the NHTSA ended the probe after finding it was linked to only two low-speed accidents, Reuters reported. The agency also concluded that the feature was primarily linked to low-speed incidents resulting in minor property damage, adding it had reports of roughly 100 crashes with no injuries or fatalities.
Based on its findings, the agency said the low frequency and severity of the incidents did not warrant further action.
Contributing: Reuters & Keith Laing / USA TODAY
Reporter Anthony Thompson can be reached at [email protected], or on X @athompsonUSAT
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