Tesla on Autopilot crashes into Florida pond, killing 87-year-old driver
An 87-year-old Florida man died last week after his Tesla, which was reportedly operating on Autopilot, veered off the road and plunged into a pond in Tampa, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.
The crash occurred around 8:10 p.m. on May 26 on a residential street where the speed limit is 30 mph. Authorities said the Tesla Model Y struck an electrical box before entering a pond and becoming fully submerged. Emergency responders pulled both occupants from the vehicle and transported them to a hospital, where the driver later died. A 75-year-old female passenger survived with minor injuries.
Investigators confirmed the vehicle was in Autopilot mode at the time of the crash, but have not disclosed how that determination was made, nor identified what may have caused the car to leave the roadway. The Florida Highway Patrol said the investigation is ongoing, and has not released the identities of the individuals involved. It also remains unclear whether speed, a medical event, or a system malfunction played a role—and how long the car was underwater before rescue crews arrived.
The incident adds to a growing list of fatal crashes involving Tesla’s partially automated driving systems, which have been under scrutiny from federal regulators and in the courts. In a separate case reported by Reuters, a federal judge in Florida recently upheld a $243 million jury verdict against Tesla related to a 2019 crash in Key Largo. That crash killed a 22-year-old woman and severely injured her boyfriend after a Tesla Model S ran through an intersection. The judge ruled the evidence “more than supports” the jury’s finding that Tesla’s Autopilot system contributed to the crash alongside driver behavior. Tesla has said it plans to appeal.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration opened a probe into Tesla’s Full Self-Driving software in October 2024, later expanding it in March to cover around 3.2 million vehicles and several additional crashes. The agency flagged concerns that Tesla’s visibility degradation detection system—designed to monitor environmental conditions like glare or fog—may fail to warn drivers in time. However, in April, NHTSA closed the investigation after linking it to only two low-speed accidents with minor property damage, concluding that the low frequency and severity of incidents did not warrant further action.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk has repeatedly promoted the company’s autonomous driving capabilities as central to its future, predicting in a recent talk that “90% of all distance driven will be driven by AI in a self-driving car” within a decade. The company has faced multiple lawsuits over its driver-assistance features, though many have been settled or dismissed before trial.
The Florida Highway Patrol did not respond to requests for additional information by Tuesday. Tesla also did not respond to a request for comment. The investigation into the Tampa crash remains active.
Contributing: Reuters & Keith Laing / USA TODAY
Reporter Anthony Thompson can be reached at [email protected]