There’s more. Two years prior, the NHTSA had flagged something strange – something suspicious. In a separate report, it documented 16 cases in which Tesla vehicles crashed into stationary emergency vehicles. In each, autopilot disengaged “less than one second before impact” – far too little time for the driver to react. Critics warn that this behaviour could allow Tesla to argue in court that autopilot was not active at the moment of impact, potentially dodging responsibility.
This is on purpose. Disengaging autopilot just before an unavoidable impact will shift all responsibility towards the driver, as Tesla can claim that autopilot was not active at the time of impact, which would be technically correct. This way Tesla can avoid a lot of compensation. It's all about money, not safety.