NHTSA Investigates Comma.ai After Five Crashes, Three Deaths

The inquiry targets aftermarket products rather than a system installed by an automaker as original equipment. The Office of Defects Investigation is the NHTSA unit responsible for identifying defects in motor vehicles and equipment. According to the account, all five crashes involved vehicles using comma.ai devices and involved impacts with stopped or slow-moving cars.

Comma.ai was the brainchild of George Hotz, who rose to prominence at the start of the last decade by jailbreaking iOS and hacking Sony PlayStations. In 2015, Hotz turned his attention to partially automated driver assists, which were gaining attention after Tesla’s exploits with its Autopilot system. Hotz first modified his own Acura to give it a more advanced driver assist that let him take his hands off the wheel. His goal was to sell the system to Tesla and replace Mobileye as the company’s supplier.

Mobileye dropped Tesla as a customer the following year after becoming unhappy with the way the car company was using Mobileye products in unintended ways, according to Ars Technica. The report did not include a response from comma.ai or additional details about the individual crashes, such as where they occurred or which vehicles were involved.