Tesla has released its second-quarter vehicle safety report, which shows a significant improvement year-over-year.
According to the report:
In the 2nd quarter, we registered one accident for every 4.53 million miles driven in which drivers had Autopilot engaged. For those driving without Autopilot but with our active safety features, we registered one accident for every 2.27 million miles driven. For those driving without Autopilot and without our active safety features, we registered one accident for every 1.56 million miles driven. By comparison, NHTSA’s most recent data shows that in the United States there is an automobile crash every 479,000 miles.
While the previous quarter’s figures are slightly better – one accident on Autopilot for every 4.68 million miles – Tesla’s self-driving technology continues to present strong evidence that it’s less accident-prone than human drivers.
In an effort to build consumer confidence with Tesla’s self-driving features, Tesla started voluntarily releasing quarterly safety data in October 2018. In July 2019, the company began voluntarily releasing annually updated data about vehicle fires as well.
Tesla’s report notes that “accident 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.”