Tesla in the clear after report finds no evidence of defects
US safety regulators primarily blame the driver for a fatal crash involving a Tesla Model S being used in autopilot mode
Washington — Thursday was a good day for Tesla Motors when its shares got a boost from a Morgan Stanley upgrade, and US safety regulators said they found no evidence of defects in a Tesla car involved in the death of a man whose Model S collided with a truck while he was using its autopilot system. The case has been closely watched as car manufacturers race to automate more driving tasks without exposing themselves to increased liability risks. Tesla CEO Elon Musk, on Twitter, praised the decision by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), which did not order a recall and put the responsibility for the accident primarily on the driver, former Navy SEAL Joshua Brown. On Thursday, US Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx said that drivers have a duty to take their obligation to maintain control of a vehicle seriously. He said car makers must also explain the limits of semi-autonomous systems. In the case of Tesla’s autopilot, one limitation was that the system coul...
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