Tesla on Autopilot Crashes into Florida Highway Patrol Car

An autopiloted Tesla careened into a Florida Highway Patrol cruiser Saturday after the officer pulled over to help a broken-down vehicle on the interstate, according to officials.

The Tesla driver, who has not been publicly identified, was cruising down I-4, near Orlando, around 5 a.m. Saturday when the car crashed into the left side of the trooper’s vehicle, and then the disabled Mercedes, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.

The Mercedes driver sustained minor injuries, while the 27-year-old Tesla driver and the 27-year-old trooper were uninjured.

The Tesla “narrowly missed” hitting the trooper, who was standing outside the patrol car, according to FHP.

“No commercially available motor vehicles today are capable of driving themselves,” the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said in a statement. “Every available vehicle requires a human driver to be in control at all times, and all state laws hold human drivers responsible for operation of their vehicles.”

In mid-August, the National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration opened an investigation into Tesla’s Autopilot feature, blaming it for 17 injuries, 11 crashes and one death since January 2018.

A spokesperson for Tesla did not immediately return a request for comment.

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