The AP report today suggests a tragic head-on collision in South Lake Tahoe was caused by Tesla engineering defects.

A Tesla Model 3 and Subaru Impreza collided head on during the evening of July 5, according to state police, and the driver of the Subaru died a short time later. Local media reports say that an infant that had been traveling in the Tesla died last week.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has been looking into a string of accidents involving Teslas that are believed to have had automated driving technology installed.

[…]

Sending special investigation teams to crashes means that the agency suspects the Teslas were operating systems that can handle some aspects of driving, including Autopilot and “Full Self-Driving.” Despite the names used for the technology [they are unable to do what they are called].

I’ve been closely monitoring this case since it was first reported, given its similarity to another recent veered Tesla head-on collision with a Subaru.

If the rise in “Autopilot” crashes are found by investigators to be a repeatable engineering defect… then roads clearly should be treated as unsafe anytime a Tesla is on them.

Reuters puts it like this.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said Tuesday it is opening a new special crash investigation into a fatal accident in California involving a 2018 Tesla Model 3 where advanced driver assistance systems are suspected of having been used.

Since 2016, NHTSA has opened more than three dozen Tesla special crash investigations in cases where advanced driver assistance systems such as Autopilot were suspected of being used, with 20 crash deaths reported.

[…]

This is the first new special crash investigation open since March.

How many weeks before the next person is killed from Tesla dumping unsafe product at a high rate into public spaces?

The news report suggests people in a nearby car had to stand back and just watch as their friends were burned to death in a Tesla.

Tragedy in Tracy, California as two Indian American young men lost their lives in a fatal single-car accident. Witnesses say 34-year-old Amrik Singh Wander and 38-year-old Arvind Ram Ramraj crashed into a fire hydrant and then a tree along four lane road. The Tesla they were driving in then burst into flames. Their friends were in a vehicle behind them and saw the entire incident, but could do nothing to help Wander and Ram, who were trapped inside and died on-site.

Trapped inside, burned alive. I’ve written before about this as a long known Tesla design flaw.

This crash echoes the tragedy of another recent CA crash where an onlooker was able to pull only one person from the crashed Tesla before watching it burn three others to death.

Pavraj Dhanoa, 16, Daniel Nasraoui, 17, and Shad Suleiman, 16

There do seem to be a lot of Asian American names in these coroner reports lately. I wonder what they like about Tesla, or why they would put their children in a car so likely to burn them to death.

Starting now.

Is There a Right to Repair?
Judiciary Committee Hearing
Date: Tue, 07/18/2023 – 10:00 AM
Location: 2141 Rayburn House Office Building

The House Judiciary Subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property, and the Internet will hold a hearing on Tuesday, July 18, 2023, at 10:00 a.m. EST. The hearing, “Is There a Right to Repair?,” will examine the current legal landscape of the right to repair and related intellectual property issues, including potential future avenues for policymaking. The hearing will also discuss laws and regulations at both the federal and state level and the implications for a range of industries from automotive to software to consumer electronics.

Livestream

I have written many related posts here on right to repair…