Washington — The Tesla Model X that crashed in California earlier this year while being guided by its semi-autonomous driving system sped up to about 114km/h in the seconds before the vehicle slammed into a highway barrier, investigators said Thursday.A US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) preliminary report on the March 23 accident in Mountain View raises new questions about the capabilities of Tesla’s semi-autonomous driving system and the actions of the driver. His hands were detected on the steering wheel only 34 seconds during the last minute before impact and he had programmed the car to drive at 120km/h, the report said.The investigation is the latest to shine a spotlight on to potential flaws in emerging autonomous driving technology. In Tesla’s case, the company has touted its system as having self-driving capabilities, even though vehicles have failed to stop for stationary objects in the road in several cases and owners are warned to remain attentive.Another Nat...
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