In total, NHTSA investigated 956 crashes, starting in January 2018 and extending all the way until August 2023. Of those crashes, some of which involved other vehicles striking the Tesla vehicle, 29 people died. There were also 211 crashes in which “the frontal plane of the Tesla struck a vehicle or obstacle in its path.” These crashes, which were often the most severe, resulted in 14 deaths and 49 injuries.
That is one of the key takeaways from years of safety engineering studies. True aviation autopilot studies have developed rigorous systems to avoid just this kind of problem.
Tesla took the name, but threw away all the rigorous procedures, when they built there system.