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Tesla previously revealed details on the crash that occurred on March 23rd that killed a driver. Now, it appears that the US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said they are “unhappy” with Tesla releasing the information. In a blog post, Elon Musk revealed that the car’s Autopilot was active when the vehicle struck high away carrier and caught fire. Additionally, he noted that according to the vehicle data, driver Wei Huang didn’t have his hands on the steering wheel for six seconds period to the crash into a disabled safety barrier.
“In each of our investigations involving a Tesla vehicle, Tesla has been extremely cooperative on assisting with the vehicle data,” an agency spokesman told the Washington Post. “However, the NTSB is unhappy with the release of investigative information by Tesla. The NTSB is looking into all aspects of this crash including the driver’s previous concerns about the Autopilot.”
At this time the NTSB needs the assistance of Tesla to decode the data the vehicle recorded. In each of our investigations involving a Tesla vehicle, Tesla has been extremely cooperative on assisting with the vehicle data. However, the NTSB is unhappy with the release of investigative information by Tesla. We will work to determine the probable cause of the crash and our next update of information about our investigation will likely be when we publish a preliminary report, which generally occurs within a few weeks of completion of field work
In the latter part of the statement, NTSB referred to comments that Huang’s family to San Francisco TV station KGO-TV. When speaking to them, the family said that Wei Huang brought concerns to a Tesla dealership that his Model X previously swerved toward the same median where the accident happened. Tesla issuing the statement on Friday basically implied that Huang did not follow the company guidelines, adding that the accident was exacerbated by a highway crash attenuators that had recently been crushed in a previous accident and not yet reset.
The NTSB didn’t like that Tesla came out with a preliminary justification, and said that the investigation is still ongoing. “At this time the NTSB needs the assistance of Tesla to decode the data the vehicle recorded,” said NTSB spokesperson Chris O’Neil. “We will work to determine the probable cause of the crash and our next update of information about our investigation will likely be when we publish a preliminary report, which generally occurs within a few weeks of completion of field work.”
