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Tesla Model X in California Crash Sped Up Prior to Impact
- NTSB releases first preliminary report on March 23 crash
- Investigators probing Tesla’s semi-autonomous driving system
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The Tesla Inc. Model X that crashed in California earlier this year 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 Thursday.
A U.S. National Transportation Safety Board preliminary report on the March 23 accident in Mountain View raises new questions about the capabilities of Tesla’s semi-autonomous driving system and the actions of the driver. His hands were detected on the steering wheel only 34 seconds during the last minute before impact and he had programmed the car to drive at 75 mph, the report said.