SAN JOSE, Calif. _ The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said Thursday it has closed an investigation of a fatal Tesla Autopilot Tesla crash, finding no defects and declining to issue a recall notice.
The six-month investigation into the nation's first self-driving vehicle fatality found no problems with the design or performance of Autopilot. The system, based on radar, camera and machine learning technology, allows Tesla vehicles to sense potential crashes, stay within lanes, and adjust speeds automatically.
The federal investigation did not uncover a "safety-related defect trend," adding that "further examination of this issue does not appear to be warranted."
Tesla said in a brief statement that it appreciated the thoroughness of the NHTSA investigation.
"The safety of our customers comes first," the company said.
The agency specifically looked at the design and performance of Tesla's automatic emergency braking system, the interface between the driver and the vehicle, data from other Tesla crashes, and changes the company has made to Autopilot and its braking system.
NHTSA spokesman Bryan Thomas said the agency favored the changes Tesla made to Autopilot after the crash, including more aggressive warnings when drivers take their hands off the wheel and that it disengages when drivers repeatedly ignore the warnings.
"It certainly addressed the issues we were evaluating," Thomas said.
On May 7, 2016, a Tesla owner in a Model S was driving with Autopilot on a divided highway near Williston, Fla. A tractor-trailer made a legal, left-hand turn across the highway in front of the Tesla. The Tesla driver and Autopilot failed to brake, and the car crashed broadside into truck. Josh Brown, a 40-year-old Navy veteran and entrepreneur from Ohio, was killed.
