Stop us if you've heard this one before...
In keeping with the track record of complete and total inaction related to Tesla from U.S. safety regulators, the NTSB closed an investigation into a fatal August 2020 Tesla crash without taking any action.
The car in question was a 2019 Model 3 that was using Autopilot at the time of the accident. An investigation found that the driver was "manually pressing the accelerator pedal causing the vehicle to go into override mode when it struck the rear of a minivan," according to Reuters.
The Tesla was doing 110 miles per hour when it struck a truck, the report says. It then caught fire, resulting in the death of the driver and his wife, who was in the car.
The report says that Tesla issued numerous alerts to the 75 year old driver since his hands were not detected on the wheel during Autopilot's use.
The NTSB concluded that the Tesla was doing 68 miles per hour before the driver manually sped the car up to 72 miles per hour. Then, the car's automatic emergency braking kicked in, slowing the car.
The driver then increased pressure on the accelerator to 95%, the report says, before striking the minivan at "speeds recorded up to 114".
The investigation had initially been to "support the NTSB’s interest in automated vehicle performance," the agency said. After reviewing the facts, "no further action beyond this memorandum will be taken," the NTSB said in a memo out this week.
Recall, in late October, the NTSB said that it was "deeply concerned" about Tesla's failure to respond to its safety...