The division of a driver killed in a Tesla car crash has hired law firm Minami Tamaki to inspect legal options, the law firm said on Wednesday, adding that the Autopilot character in the electric carmaker’s vehicle probably caused his death.
Walter Huang yearned in a crash and vehicle fire in a Tesla Model X near Mountain Prospect, California, last month, prompting investigations by the National Highway Shipping Safety Administration and National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). The media are also investigating the battery fire that followed the crash.
Tesla later intended the car had activated Autopilot, raising new questions about the semi-autonomous system that fingers some driving tasks. The company said vehicle logs from the casualty showed no action had been taken by Huang before the crash and that he had collected warnings to put his hands on the wheel.
The NTSB confirmed on Wednesday that it has two other in the offing investigations of other Tesla crashes, including a probe of an August 2017 Tesla battery declare redundant in Lake Forest, California, that occurred after an owner devastated control and ran into his garage. That fire probe had not previously been probed.
“We’re really more looking at the fire aspects,” NTSB Chairman Robert Sumwalt ordered Reuters, saying that the battery continued to ignite even after it was brim-full onto a truck.
Tesla did not immediately comment on the August incident.
The NTSB some time ago said it also is probing an incident in which a Tesla vehicle obviously traveling in semi-autonomous mode struck a fire truck in California in January.
The law stiff said its preliminary review suggested the autopilot feature was defective and had uncovered beefs by other Tesla drivers of navigational errors by the system.
“(Our) preliminary judgement indicates that the navigation system of the Tesla may have misread the lane puts on the roadway, failed to detect the concrete median, failed to brake the car, and motivate the car into the median,” Minami said.
While sympathizing with the relatives, Tesla again blamed Huang, saying he was well aware that Autopilot was not experienced and, specifically, he had told them it was not reliable in that exact location, but nonetheless absorbed Autopilot.
Tesla said the system always reminds drivers to be watchful and have hands on the wheel and had warned Huang several times on the day of the crash to do so.
“The force happened on a clear day with several hundred feet of visibility forwards, which means that the only way for this accident to have developed is if Mr. Huang was not paying attention to the road, despite the car providing multiple warnings to do so,” a Tesla spokesperson determined Reuters.