A Tesla Model X operating on Autopilot crashed into a highway barrier in California on March 23, 2018, killing the driver Walter Huang after the AI system steered the vehicle into a concrete divider due to faded lane markings.
On March 23, 2018, at 9:27 a.m., a 2017 Tesla Model X P100D driven by Walter Huang, a 38-year-old Apple engineer, crashed into a concrete highway barrier on U.S. Highway 101 in Mountain View, California, while operating under Tesla's Autopilot system. The vehicle was traveling at approximately 71 mph when it veered from the second-left lane into a gore area separating the main highway from an exit ramp, ultimately striking a damaged crash attenuator. Vehicle logs showed that Autopilot was engaged with adaptive cruise control set to minimum following distance, and the driver's hands were not detected on the steering wheel for six seconds prior to impact. The driver had received multiple visual warnings and one audible warning earlier in the drive to place his hands back on the wheel. Data from Huang's phone indicated a mobile game was active during the drive. The crash resulted in the vehicle's front structure separating from the rear, a subsequent fire involving the lithium-ion battery, and Huang's death from blunt-force trauma. The National Transportation Safety Board investigation found that faded and partially obliterated lane markings in the gore area contributed to the Autopilot system's confusion, causing it to follow the wrong lane line. The crash attenuator that the vehicle struck had been damaged in a previous accident and not replaced, contributing to the severity of the impact.
Domain classification, causal taxonomy, severity scores, and national security assessments were LLM-classified and may contain errors.
AI systems that fail to perform reliably or effectively under varying conditions, exposing them to errors and failures that can have significant consequences, especially in critical applications or areas that require moral reasoning.
AI system
Due to a decision or action made by an AI system
Unintentional
Due to an unexpected outcome from pursuing a goal
Post-deployment
Occurring after the AI model has been trained and deployed