What 647 owners told NHTSA about the 2015 Tesla Model S 60

The car veered suddenly to the left (out of the left lane of a highway) while supervised in auto steer. The driver could not move the steering wheel to avoid a collision with the guardrail as the steering wheel had locked up. The collision warning didn’t sound and emergency brakes did not activate upon impact. The airbags were deployed and the car was totaled.

NHTSA ODI 11624099

The vehicle was involved in an accident due to a failure of the autopilot system. There was a recall letter sent out of 23V-838 a month prior, but changes either did not persist or was the primary cause of the accident.

NHTSA ODI 11588343

System Failure: Adaptive speed control Safety Risk: My 2015 Tesla Model S, at highway speeds, smashed into the rear of a jacked up Ford F250 Pickup. A Head on collision at highway speeds put my wife (and dog) and I at great risk. Has the problem been reproduced or confirmed by a dealer or independent service center? I am unsure if or how Tesla is dealing with the problem of adaptable speed control failure. Has the vehicle been inspected? Yes. Dan's Paint & Autobody and USAA Insurance Company adjuster My accident happened in the southbound passing lane at mile marker 178 on I-10, south of chandler on the Gila River Community in Maricopa/Pinal County It was dark outside with heavy traffic in both southbound lanes. My software version was 2021.40.6 I had the distance between cars at the closest setting , and had the adaptive speed control set at ~75. I was attentive with both hands on the wheel, eyes forward watching traffic with my wife whom was also watching the traffic. Without warning a Ford F250 stopped hard in front of me and my adaptive speed control did not react. The few beats I gave the adaptive speed control to respond first cost me precious braking time. I did hit my abs brakes and could feel the vibration as they attempted to slow down, but it was too late. I submarined under the bumper of the truck at a very high speed. There was no warning lamps, messages at the time of the accident. There was one early symptom that I recall. There was a Tesla software update a few days before the collision. On 11/27/22 before leaving for my trip, the dash screen to the far left did not display the map which it usually does when you set the GPS to map the path. I rebooted with the steering wheel toggles, and the display returned to normal. There were no other software malfunctions that I recall prior to the adaptive speed control failure.

NHTSA ODI 11450994

No early alert before slamming on the brakes, only tapping a rear bumper on a 1999 Toyota Tundra. No damage to the Toyota but to my surprise, the insurance company said the Tesla's totaled. The airbags for the driver were deployed only, with no other passengers in the car. Quite a loud noise. I have an EDR report, not sure how to interpret it. Did not hear any warning lamps. Fortunately, both the other driver and I suffered no injuries. I would like to find out exactly what happened.

NHTSA ODI 11444605

8:15 AM, 6/19/20, I HEAD A SICKENING THWACK FROM THE STREET FROM ABT 300 YDS AWAY. EERILY, BEC SOMETHING VERY LARGE WAS HIT WITH NO SOUND OF SQUEALING BRAKES OR CRIES, I WENT OUT FRONT TO LOOK LEFT WITHOUT SEEING ANYTHING. THEN I LOOKED RIGHT AND SAW A MAN CROUCHED TO THE GROUND BESIDE A CAR. I IOOKED FURTHER RT & SAW THE BACK OF A MAN THROWN FACE-FIRST INTO MY TREES. I DIDN'T IMME REGISTER WHAT I WAS LOOKING AT UNTIL I RECOGNIZED THE BODY AS MY HUSBAND, SCREAMED, & RAN TO HIM. HE WAS SNORING LOUDLY. I WAS AFRAID TO TOUCH HIM, SO I HOVERED OVER HIM CALLING HIS NAME. HE DID NOT RESPOND. I TURNED TO THE STREET, SCREAMING AT PASSERS-BY TO CALL 911. THE CROUCHING MAN SAID HE HAD, BUT I WAS FEARFUL OF HIM & THOUGHT, "HOW DO I KNOW YOU HAVE? WHY ARE YOU SO FAR AWAY? DIDN'T YOU EVEN COME OVER TO CHECK ON HIM?" I KEPT SCREAMING AS DRIVERS STOPPED THEIR CARS AND PEOPLE GATHERED. OUR 19-YR-OLD DAUGHTER CAME RUNNING OUT OF THE HOUSE, FOLLOWED BY OUR 17 AND 15-YR-OLD SONS. AN AMBULANCE CAME AND TOOK MY HUSBAND, REFUSING ME BECAUSE OF COVID. THEN I SPOKE WITH 1 OF 2 POLICE WHILE THE OTHER SPOKE TO THE DRIVER OF THE TESLA. HE SAID THE DRIVER ADMITTED TO BEING ON HIS PHONE AS THE CAR DROVE ITSELF, NEVER SEEING MY HUSBAND AND DRIVING 45 MPH. WHEN HE SAID I COULD LEAVE, I WENT TO THE ER WHERE I WAS IMME TOLD MY HUSBAND HAD SUSTAINED SEVERE BRAIN DAMAGE TO BOTH SIDES OF HIS BRAIN AND CATASTROPHIC OTHER INJURIES. A POLICE INVESTIGATOR MET ME AT THE ER. INVESTIGATION OF THE VEHICLE & DOWNLOAD OF THE COMPUTER WERE COMPLETED AT POLICE STATION. I WAS TOLD THE TESLA HAD BEEN IN 1 PRIOR AX, BUT HAD NOT REGISTERED "AN EVENT" ON 6/19. LAWYER PRESENT DID SAY THE CAR WAS IN "AUTOPILOT" & SEV SYSTEMS HAD MALFUNCTIONED: AIRBAG, BRAKING, WARNING SOUND, VEERING AWAY, ETC. I WAS LATER TOLD HE WAS DOA, BUT BROUGHT BACK.10 MOS LATER, HUSBAND IS A NON-COMMUNICATING QUADRIPLEGIC, SEVERE TBI, FEEDING TUBE.

NHTSA ODI 11414018