US ends probe of Tesla fatal crash without seeking recall

WASHINGTON — Tesla Motors Inc. won’t face a recall or fine as a result of a fatal crash involving its Autopilot system, but federal safety regulators are warning auto manufacturers and drivers not to treat semiautonomous cars as if they are fully self-driving.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said Thursday it found that the system had no safety defects at the time of the May 7 crash in Florida, and that it was primarily designed to prevent rear-end collisions rather than other crashes.

The probe began June 28, nearly two months after a driver using Autopilot in a 2015 Tesla Model S died when it failed to spot a tractor-trailer crossing the car’s path on a highway in Williston, Fla.

The investigation “helps clarify that cars are still supposed to be driven by attentive people, and if people behind the wheel aren’t attentive, it’s not the technology’s fault,” said Karl Brauer, executive publisher of Kelley Blue Book.

The safety administration released guidelines last year that attempt to ensure safety without slowing development of semiautonomous and self-driving cars.

The agency says self-driving features could dramatically reduce traffic deaths by eliminating human error, which plays a role in 94 percent of fatal crashes.

In its probe, the safety administration evaluated how the system functions and looked into dozens of other crashes involving Teslas, including a July one on the Pennsylvania Turnpike that injured two people.

When Tesla released Autopilot in 2015, some safety advocates questioned whether the Palo Alto company and the safety administration allowed the public access to the system before testing was finished.

Consumer Reports magazine called on Tesla to drop the “Autopilot” name because it can give drivers too much trust in their car’s ability to drive itself.