The chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and Tesla chief executive Elon Musk reportedly had a "constructive conversation" on the agency's investigation into a fatal crash involving a Tesla vehicle that was operating in semi-autonomous Autopilot mode.

The NTSB had, on 1 April, said it was "unhappy" Tesla had made public information about the crash of the Model X that killed the car's driver.

Go deeper with GlobalData

Data Insights

The gold standard of business intelligence.

Find out more

NTSB chairman Robert Sumwalt "had what he described as a very constructive conversation with Mr. Musk over the weekend," agency spokesman Peter Knudson told Reuters. "They discussed the investigation of the 23 March Tesla crash, NTSB investigative processes, and Tesla's work to address the safety recommendations that were issued last year."

Tesla declined to comment to the news agency.

Reuters noted the crash has put a sharp focus on Tesla's Autopilot technology which allows drivers to take their hands off the wheel for extended periods under certain conditions. Though Tesla requires users to agree to keep their hands on the wheel at all times before they can use Autopilot, users, however, routinely brag they can use the system to drive hands-free.

See Also:

Tesla said a week after the accident that vehicle logs showed no action had been taken by the driver right before the crash and that he had received earlier warnings to put his hands on the wheel.
"The NTSB is looking into all aspects of this crash including the driver's previous concerns about the Autopilot," Christopher O'Neil, another NTSB spokesman, told Reuters on 1 April.

How well do you really know your competitors?

Access the most comprehensive Company Profiles on the market, powered by GlobalData. Save hours of research. Gain competitive edge.

Company Profile – free sample

Thank you!

Your download email will arrive shortly

Not ready to buy yet? Download a free sample

We are confident about the unique quality of our Company Profiles. However, we want you to make the most beneficial decision for your business, so we offer a free sample that you can download by submitting the below form

By GlobalData
Visit our Privacy Policy for more information about our services, how we may use, process and share your personal data, including information of your rights in respect of your personal data and how you can unsubscribe from future marketing communications. Our services are intended for corporate subscribers and you warrant that the email address submitted is your corporate email address.

Last month, the company said that a search of its service records did not "find anything suggesting that the customer ever complained to Tesla about the performance of Autopilot. There was a concern raised once about navigation not working correctly, but Autopilot's performance is unrelated to navigation".

On 30 March, Tesla disclosed that shortly before the crash, the vehicle's "Autopilot was engaged with the adaptive cruise control follow-distance set to minimum".

Sumwalt last year said that "operational limitations" in the Tesla Model S played a "major role" in a May 2016 crash that killed a driver using Autopilot.

"System safeguards were lacking," Sumwalt said in September. "Tesla allowed the driver to use the system outside of the environment for which it was designed and the system gave far too much leeway to the driver to divert his attention."

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is also investigating last month's crash, Reuters said. The two agencies are also probing a January crash of a Tesla, that may have been in Autopilot mode, and a fire truck.