The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is investigating Tesla Motors once more, after a Tesla Model X crashed under suspicious circumstances.
The incident happened on July 1 in Pennsylvania, when a Model X veered into a guard rail and ended up crashing into a concrete median.
The NHTSA has announced that it will analyze the involvement of the company's Autopilot software in the crash. It appears that the driver escaped unharmed from the incident, even though the car completely turned upside down.
Soon after the accident, Tesla stated that there are no data to suggest that Autopilot was turned on at the moment of the crash. In an interesting turn of events, the automaker modified its declaration and updated the statement. According to the new tune Tesla is playing, the company was not able to consult the log of the car, which could have helped with a detailed understanding of the event.
According to media reports, the Model X belongs to Albert Scaglione, an art gallery owner. Scaglione pointed out that the 2016 Tesla Model X was using the "Autopilot" mode when it crashed and flipped over. The car was also carrying a passenger.
Both Scaglione and passenger Timothy Yanke suffered injuries in the accident, but their severity is currently unknown.
The Model X crash happened only one day after the NHTSA unveiled that it is investigating Tesla's self-driving tech. The probe started in the wake of a previous accident involving a Tesla car.
On May 7, Joshua Brown lost his life when his Tesla Model S crashed into a trailer truck that took a turn on a freeway. Brown's death was the first fatal incident involving a car with autonomous driving capabilities. It appears that the Model S had its autopilot feature running at the time of the incident.
Keep in mind that Tesla does not embed a fully self-driving technology in its cars. Actually, the Autopilot feature is a semi-autonomous system that drivers can choose, following a number of warnings.
The Autopilot enables the car to independently steer within a lane or change lanes with only the tap of a turn signal. Additionally, it makes use of traffic-aware cruise control to maintain proper travelling speed.
Tesla repeatedly underlined that drivers should keep their hands on the wheel and their eyes on the road at all times, despite the cars' ability to drive themselves.
However, experts from the industry questioned whether semi-autonomous systems help drivers or create a false sense of security.
