Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) ended the week on a sour note as it was discovered that a Tesla Model 3 driver was using the vehicle in Autopilot mode before the vehicle crashed into a semi truck back in March, killing the driver.
The news was announced by federal investigators in a report Thursday, which revealed that the car was driving beneath the trailer in a crash that is reminiscent of a similar accident that happened in Florida in 2016, which also saw the vehicle operate in Autopilot. Both instances saw the drivers die, while the top of the vehicles were sheared off.
The most recent crash took place in Delray Beach, Florida as the 50-year-old driver put the car on Autopilot roughly 10 seconds before the sedan crashed with a semi-truck, per the National Transportation Safety Board. The agency did not say that the Tesla driver was at fault for the crash.
The 2018 Model 3 was reportedly traveling at about 68 mph on a highway with a speed limit of 55 mph, according to the agency, which added that the driver nor the system made any sort of evasive maneuvers, according to preliminary data and video. This is now the fourth time a driver has lost his life while using a Tesla vehicle in Autopilot.
The news had a negative impact on the brand as TSLA stock is down 6.9% on Friday.
