Benzinga - by Chris Katje, Benzinga Staff Writer.
Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) recruiter Hans von Ohain died in a fatal automotive accident in 2022. New footage and evidence from The Washington Post points to the accident being the potential first full self-driving fatality from the electric vehicle (EV) company.
What Happened: Von Ohain and passenger Erik Rossiter were involved in the accident that saw the Tesla Model 3 hit a tree and burst into flames. Rossiter survived the crash and later told emergency responders that the driver had used an "auto-drive feature on the Tesla."
Rossiter's testimony and evidence suggest that Autopilot wasn’t being used. Instead, von Ohain and Rossiter used the full self-driving, function.
Both the driver and passenger in this particular accident had been drinking before leaving a golf course. An autopsy of von Ohain showed a blood alcohol level of 0.26 — significantly higher than the legal limit.
Nora Bass, the widow of von Ohain, shifted blame to Tesla CEO Elon Musk and expressed frustration over not being able to find a lawyer who would take the case.
"Regardless of how drunk Hans was, Musk has claimed that this car can drive itself and is essentially better than a human," Bass said. "We were sold a false sense of security."
An order reviewed by the Washington Post showed von Ohain received full self-driving for free with an employee discount. Customers paid $10,000 at the time for the feature.
Given the state of the vehicle after the accident, police were unable to access data from the car. Tesla could not confirm if full self-driving had been in use, stating it "did not receive data over-the-air for this incident."
The Austin, Texas-based company reported the accident to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) saying a driver-assistance feature had been used before the impact.
According to The Washington Post, Tesla has not publicly acknowledged the death of their former employee. Bass said the company's first communication with her after the accident was a termination notice found in von Ohain's email.
Benzinga did not hear back on a request for comment from Tesla.
Related Link: Tesla Q4 Earnings Highlights: Revenue Miss, EPS Miss, Model Y A Global Bestseller, Next-Gen Vehicle Update And More
Why It’s Important: Tesla is the leader in EV production and deliveries globally. Implementing self-driving technology remains one of the company’s main objectives.
Over 900 accidents using driver-assistance systems in Tesla vehicles have been reported to federal regulators since 2021. Among the 900 accidents, 40 included serious or fatal injuries.
Full self-driving is available for around 400,000 Tesla drivers. The technology is currently in "beta mode," with ongoing development continuing to improve the system.
Musk previously said that full self-driving could be reliable in the future that drivers "could go to sleep."
Tesla's user agreement for full self-driving requires that drivers are ready to take over the vehicle at all times.
A previous federal investigation into a 2021 car crash involving a Tesla Model S was blamed on drunk driving instead of the use of Autopilot.
There are several pending investigations and potential lawsuits against Tesla involving the use of Autopilot and full self-driving.
TSLA Price Action: Tesla shares are down 2% to $183.99 on Tuesday versus a 52-week trading range of $152.37 to $299.29.
Read Next: Elon Musk Says Autopilot Would ‘Almost Certainly Have’ Saved Driver In 2019 Model 3 Crash After Tesla Prevails In Court
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