Tesla Says Its Autopilot, Full Self-Driving Cars Are Safer Than Average US Car

Elon Musk-led Tesla Inc TSLA has asserted that its vehicles equipped with Autopilot and Full Self-Driving are much safer than the overall U.S. vehicle fleet, despite allegations to the contrary.

What Happened: Autopilot-engaged Tesla vehicles crashed only 0.18 times per million miles in 2022 as compared to the general U.S. fleet which witnessed 1.53 accidents within the same distance, Tesla said in its impact report released on Tuesday.

“Not all active safety systems are created equal,” Tesla said while adding that the decision to remove radar from its sensor suite in 2021 improved safety.

FSD Beta engaged Tesla vehicles had an accident 0.31 times and a Tesla with no autonomous system enabled had a collision 0.68 times per million miles — still lesser than the average U.S. fleet.

The statistics were assembled based on Tesla’s data on its own vehicles and NHTSA’s data on vehicles, Tesla noted.

Why It Matters: Earlier this month, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said that it would open an investigation into a crash involving a 2022 Model Y vehicle and a 17-year-old. Since 2016, NHTSA has reportedly opened 40 crash investigations involving Tesla vehicles that may have been driven on Autopilot mode.

However, Tesla has often reiterated the safety of its FSD software. The accident rate of the FSD system disclosed by Tesla on its Investor Day showed that there has been an average of one accident per 3.2 million miles, compared to the nationwide average of one accident for about 500,000 miles, according to Ark Invest analyst Tasha Keeney.

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