Musk backed a boast of zero 'self-driving' Tesla crashes, but data show otherwise

Carmakers without over-the-air software must rely on public reports and communications with drivers and service centres to judge whether a NHTSA report is necessary. — Getty Images/TNS

Elon Musk has long used his mighty Twitter megaphone to amplify the idea that Tesla's automated driving software isn't just safe — it's safer than anything a human driver can achieve.

That campaign kicked into overdrive last fall when the electric-car maker expanded its Full Self-Driving "beta" program from a few thousand people to a fleet that now numbers more than 100,000. The US$12,000 (RM53,392) feature purportedly lets a Tesla drive itself on highways and neighbourhood streets, changing lanes, making turns and obeying traffic signs and signals.