How Safe Are Teslas with Autopilot Activated?

In the first quarter of 2020, Tesla vehicles in the U.S. registered one crash for every 4.68 million miles driven in which drivers had Autopilot engaged, the company released this week on its website. 

The data, pulled from the Tesla vehicles’ telematics, reveals a correlation between crashes when various levels of safety technology are engaged in Tesla vehicles:

For those driving Teslas without Autopilot but with active safety features, Tesla vehicles registered one crash for every 1.99 million miles driven in the first quarter. For those driving without Autopilot and without active safety features, Teslas registered one crash for every 1.42 million miles driven. 

Active safety features, which have been standard on Tesla models since 2014, include automatic emergency braking, lane departure avoidance, and conditional speed limits based on time of day and weather conditions.

The crash rates can be compared by quarter since October 2018, when Tesla began voluntarily releasing a quarterly Vehicle Safety Report. 

By comparison, NHTSA’s data during that timeframe showed that in the U.S. there is an automobile crash every from 479,000 miles to 492,000 miles. 

Crash data by quarter (below) show a steady — yet uneven — improvement by quarter since the third quarter of 2018. In the report, Tesla made the point that crash rates among all vehicles on the road can vary from quarter to quarter and can be affected by seasonality, like reduced daylight and inclement weather conditions. 

Crash Data by Quarter

Q1 2020

• Autopilot: One crash every 4.68 million miles driven
• No Autopilot, with active safety features: one every 1.99 million miles
• No Autopilot, no active safety features: one every 1.42 million miles

Q4 2019

• Autopilot: One crash every 3.07 million miles driven
• No Autopilot, with active safety features: one every 2.1 million miles
• No Autopilot, no active safety features: one every 1.64 million miles

Q3 2019

• Autopilot: One crash every 4.34 million miles driven
• No Autopilot, with active safety features: one every 2.7 million miles
• No Autopilot, no active safety features: one every 1.82 million miles

Q2 2019

• Autopilot: One crash every 3.27 million miles driven
• No Autopilot, with active safety features: one every 2.19 million miles
• No Autopilot, no active safety features: one every 1.41 million miles

Q1 2019

• Autopilot: One crash every 2.87 million miles driven
• No Autopilot, with active safety features: one every 1.76 million miles
• No Autopilot, no active safety features: one every 1.26 million miles

Q4 2018

• Autopilot: One crash every 2.91 million miles driven
• No Autopilot, with active safety features: one every 1.58 million miles
• No Autopilot, no active safety features: one every 1.25 million miles

Q3 2018

• Autopilot: One crash every 3.34 million miles driven
• No Autopilot, with active safety features: one every 1.92 million miles
• No Autopilot, no active safety features: one every 2.02 million miles