Tesla car on autopilot mode kills motorcyclist in deadly crash

A 28-year-old motorcyclist was killed after a Tesla car in autopilot mode overran him, USA Today reported.

Jeffrey Nissen from Washington was pronounced dead on the scene after a Tesla car Model-S hit his bike on state route 522 in Maltby, 25 miles from Seattle, on Friday.

As per reports, the Tesla driver had put the car on an autopilot driving system and was using his phone.

The car stopped on top of the motorcyclist and couldn't be moved in time to save him.

As per the Seattle Times, the driver has been arrested for "inattention to driving while in autopilot mode, and the distraction of the cell phone while moving forward. The driver trusted the machine to drive for him."

Washington State Patrol Captain Deion Glover said: "It’s still in the early stages of investigation as a lot of unknowns are still out there." Investigations are underway to find out if the car was in autopilot mode or if the death occurred solely due to the driver’s fault.

This is not the first case of problems arising in the Tesla autopilot system.

In December last year, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration announced that more than two million Tesla cars in autopilot mode faced issues.

Earlier this month, Tesla settled a wrongful death lawsuit involving an Apple engineer who veered off a highway while on the autopilot system, leading to his death.