US authorities to investigate Tesla Autopilot crashes as senators call for probe into Musk's tweets – UPDATE

UPDATE, August 19: United States senators have asked for the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to investigate Tesla over claims made relating to its Autopilot systems.

Democrats Richard Blumenthal and Edward Markey penned a letter to FTC Chair Lina Khan saying Telsa and CEO Elon Musk's claims of its Autopilot systems being marketed as fully self-driving were dangerous and misleading.

"Tesla and Mr Musk’s repeated overstatements of their vehicle’s capabilities...put Tesla drivers – and all of the travelling public – at risk of serious injury or death," the letter said.

"Tesla drivers listen to these claims and believe their vehicles are equipped to drive themselves – with potentially deadly consequences."

The request to the FTC comes only days after the NHTSA announced it would be opening an investigation into Tesla crashes while Autopilot was activated.

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The story to here

August 17: A series of traffic collisions between Teslas using Autopilot and first responder emergency vehicles has triggered an investigation into the firm's autonomous driving system.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reports 11 crashes involving Tesla cars and emergency vehicles have occurred since the start of 2018 – all while the semi-autonomous Autopilot or Traffic Aware Cruise Control functions have been engaged.

A majority of the incidents occurred after dark and resulted in first responders being struck – despite following protocol by having safety equipment such as lights, flares, illuminated arrow boards and road cones visible to alert traffic of their presence.

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This Michigan police car was hit by a Tesla on Autopilot in March

According to the NHTSA report, of the 11 crashes, seven incidents have resulted in 17 injuries and one death. With 765,000 Autopilot-equipped vehicles on the road, the investigation covers just 0.0014 per cent of Teslas in the United States.

Despite Tesla and other automotive manufacturers putting in safety systems to make sure the driver of the vehicle is attentive while its autonomous features are active, the tech can be ineffective – as evidenced by one incident where a driver ran into a police car while watching a movie.

The NHTSA investigation will determine whether the Autopilot system meets the required standards for monitoring, assisting and enforcing driver engagement while engaged, as well as its ability to detect and respond to objects and events nearby.