Video footage from traffic surveillance cameras on the San Francisco Bay Bridge on Thanksgiving morning showed a white Tesla reportedly in “full self-driving” mode, crossing the fast lane and braking suddenly, causing an eight-vehicle crash.
The videos were obtained by investigative news website The Intercept at the request of California’s public records law and posted on its website.
Eight adults and several children were slightly injured in the crash, which disrupted traffic for more than an hour. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is investigating the crash after the driver of a Tesla Model S told authorities the vehicle was doing “full self-driving” using the Autopilot system, known as FSD, which the Tesla owner owns. Beta tested on public roads.the agency told CNN It will investigate possible malfunctions in any of Tesla’s semi-autonomous features.
The accident occurred on the same day that Elon Musk announced that beta testing of FSD would expand from a limited group of Tesla owners to “anyone in North America who requests it.”
Police said the video evidence did not conclusively show whether the vehicle was driven by a human operator or an FSD. As of late last year, Tesla said the feature was available to more than 285,000 car owners in North America.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said it plans to investigate a crash in Ohio that also involved a Tesla that may have engaged Autopilot. The agency investigated a total of 35 crashes that may have involved Tesla’s Autopilot highway driving system. A total of 19 people were killed in the accident.