Two more people die using Tesla's autopilot - bringing total fatalities to 16 since June 2021: As 830,000 vehicles probed as part of investigation which could lead to recall

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Tesla Inc has disclosed two new fatal crashes involving automated driver assist systems to US regulators bringing its total to 16 since the government required carmakers to start submitting data on such accidents in June 2021.

The figures come as part of the third public release of data collected about crashes involving level 2 automated driving under the order.

The new crashes both involved the Tesla Model 3 vehicles and reportedly occurred between September 15 and October 15 the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) told MSN.

Safety advocates in Washington have called for regulators and lawmakers to set firmer rules on self-driving cars and technologies such as Tesla's autopilot driver-assist feature.

The NHTSA escalated an investigation into the car company's autopilot system in August 2021 to probe how the system handles crash scenes following dozens of collisions.

The data does not specify whether the 16 deaths relate to passengers within the vehicle or pedestrian incidents.

In June, the NHTSA said nearly 400 car crashes in the US within a ten-month period were caused by self-driving or driver assistance technology.

Tesla Inc has disclosed two new fatal crashes involving automated driver assist systems to US regulators - its total now 16 - in a government mandated data collection system set up last year

Tesla makes up for around 70 percent of the crashes, but Elon Musk's car brand has also produced a larger share of self-driving or assisted-driving vehicles

 NHTSA has been scrutinizing Autopilot and is looking into 830,000 Tesla vehicles with the system, a required step before seeking a recall

Teslas were involved in the vast majority of those crashes, 273 out of 392, which occurred between July 1, 2021, and May 15 this year and resulted in six deaths and five serious injuries.

Worldwide automobile companies made the disclosures to the NHTSA after the regulator issued an order in June 2021 requiring automakers and tech companies to immediately report all crashes involving advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) and vehicles equipped with automated driving systems being tested on public roads.

Of the remaining number of crashes involving ADAS technology reported by a dozen automakers, 90 of them involved Hondas and 10 were Subrarus. 

Ford Motor, General Motors (GM), BMW, Volkswagen, Toyota, Hyundai and Porsche reported fewer than five incidents each.

'These technologies hold great promise to improve safety, but we need to understand how these vehicles are performing in real-world situations,' said NHTSA administration Steven Cliff. 'This will help our investigators quickly identify potential defect trends that emerge.'

Tesla makes up for around 70 percent of the crashes, but Elon Musk's car brand has also produced a larger share of self-driving or assisted-driving vehicles (830,000) that are on the road more than any other automaker.

NHTSA has been scrutinizing Autopilot and is looking into 830,000 Tesla vehicles with the system, a required step before seeking a recall.

The regulator had opened a preliminary evaluation to assess the performance of Autopilot after about a dozen crashes in which Tesla vehicles struck stopped emergency vehicles.

A deadly horror-smash saw Tesla driver Fredrick Scheffler II, left, lose control of his Model Y and crash into teacher Kyle Riegler, right, killing both men 

Dr. Omar Awan, 48, died in February 2019 after crashing his Model S on South Flamingo Road in Broward County, Florida

Firefighters were allegedly unable to reach Awan because the retractable door hands didn't pop out. Tesla claims it should have unless the power to the car was 'abruptly' cut off

In July a female driver, 66, and her male passenger, 67, were killed when their Tesla crashed into the back of a Walmart truck shearing the roof off the vehicle - its automated system probed during the investigation

Separately, NHTSA has opened 38 special crash investigations involving Tesla vehicles in which ADAS was suspected of being used, since 2016.

In January, California prosecutors filed charges against a man who allegedly ran a red light and killed two people in 2019 while driving a Tesla on Autopilot.

Kevin George Aziz Riad, 27, pled not guilty to two counts of vehicular manslaughter.

Tesla's automatic system was again questioned when a Model Y car slammed into a Hyundai killing the drivers of both cars.

The Tesla, was being driven by mortgage adviser Fredrick Scheffler II, 49, who lost control and veered into oncoming traffic along the Sunset Highway, close to the Pacific Coast near Necanicum.

Scheffler's 2020 car crashed into a Hyundai Santa Fe being driven by Kyle Riegler, a 26 year-old band teacher who worked at the nearby Seaside Middle and High Schools.

Scheffler, a married father-of-one from Portland, died shortly after the smash.

Riegler was was airlifted from the crash site, a stretch of the state's heavily wooded Sunset Highway, near the Pacific Coast, to Oregon Health & Science University in Portland, where he died that night.

It remains unclear what caused the smash, and cops are investigating.

In July a female driver, 66, and her male passenger, 67, were killed when their Tesla crashed into the back of a Walmart truck shearing the roof off the vehicle.

The NHTSA said at the time that it was too early to disclose a possible cause, but that Tesla's controversial autopilot self-driving technology was being probed over the incident.

Also in July a motorcyclist was killed by a Tesla driving on autopilot on a Utah highway.

The biker, who has been identified as Landon Embry, 34, was killed when a 2020 Tesla Model 3 merged into his lane and struck the back of his motorcycle, sending him flying from the bike. He died at the scene.

The crash bore a striking similarity to a score of Tesla crashes that have occurred since 2015 in which drivers were killed when their cars merged into tractor trailers and wound up beneath them.

The 2015 Teslas were the first to use the company's autopilot technology but did not include fully automated options.

Instead, they used several features intended to assist drivers, including automated in-lane steering, and automated lane changing prompted by the driver's commands.

'The driver is still responsible for, and ultimately in control of, the car,' Tesla wrote in a blog post announcing describing the then-new features. They're warned to always keep their hands on the wheel.

Meanwhile, the electronic door handles of a Tesla that crashed in May is being investigated as part of the cause of death if Dr. Omar Awan, 48, who died in February 2019.

Awan survived the initial impact, but his family have sued Musk's car company claiming his death could have been avoided were it not for the Tesla's door handles, the lawsuit states.

Other deadly smashes linked to Tesla's autopilot feature

January 20, 2016 in China: Gao Yaning, 23, died when the Tesla Model S he was driving slammed into a road sweeper on a highway near Handan, a city about 300 miles south of Beijing. Chinese media reported that Autopilot was engaged.

Joshua D. Brown, 40, of Canton, Ohio died in an Autopilot crash in May 2016

May 7, 2016 in Williston, Florida: Joshua D. Brown, 40, of Canton, Ohio died when cameras in his Tesla Model S failed to distinguish the white side of a turning tractor-trailer from a brightly lit sky.

The NTSB found that the truck driver’s failure to yield the right of way and a car driver’s inattention due to overreliance on vehicle automation were the probable cause of the crash.

The NTSB also noted that Tesla Autopilot permitted the car driver to become dangerously disengaged with driving. A DVD player and Harry Potter movies were found in the car.

March 23, 2018 in Mountain View, California: Apple software engineer Walter Huang, 38, died in a crash on U.S. Highway 101 with the Autopilot on his Tesla engaged.

The vehicle accelerated to 71 mph seconds before crashing into a freeway barrier, federal investigators found. 

The NTSB, in a preliminary report on the crash, also said that data shows the Model X SUV did not brake or try to steer around the barrier in the three seconds before the crash in Silicon Valley. 

Crash scene photos show the wreck on March 23, 2018 in Mountain View, California

March 1, 2019 in Delray, Florida: Jeremy Banner, 50, died when his 2018 Tesla Model 3 slammed into a semi-truck.

NTSB investigators said Banner turned on the autopilot feature about 10 seconds before the crash, and the autopilot did not execute any evasive maneuvers to avoid the crash. 

April 17, 2021 in Houston, Texas 

A Tesla smashed into a tree and burst into flames in Texas, resulting in the deaths of two men - the car's owner Doctor William Varner, and his pal Everette Talbot.

Police had said it was apparent that there was no one in the driver's seat at the time of the crash in the wealthy The Woodlands neighborhood of Houston, on April 17.

But Tesla had refuted police's claims, saying a deformed steering wheel suggested that someone was likely in the driver's seat. 

Varner, 59, and Talbot, 69, both died in the fatal crash when the Tesla Model S  - bought second-hand off eBay in January - smashed into a tree and burst into flames. 

Dr. William Varner, 59, and Everette Talbot, 69, both died in the fatal crash when the Tesla Model S smashed into a tree and burst into flames 

May 5, 2021 in Los Angeles, California  

Steven Michael Hendrickson, 35, was killed when his white Tesla Model 3 struck an overturned semi-truck at about 2.30am on May 5 

Steven Michael Hendrickson, 35, was killed when his white Tesla Model 3 struck an overturned semi-truck at about 2.30am on May 5. 

Before his death, the married father of two posted social media videos of himself riding in the electric vehicle without his hands on the wheel or foot on its pedal.

The crash happened on the 210 Freeway near Fontana, California - about 50 miles east of Los Angeles. 

A preliminary investigation determined that the Tesla's partially automated driving system called Autopilot 'was engaged' prior to the crash.  

A spokesman added that no final conclusion had been reached on what exactly had caused the fatal crash - the 29th involving a Tesla to have been probed by federal agency the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

The Mack truck, which the Tesla collided with, had crashed and overturned just five minutes earlier, blocking two lanes of the highway, according to a highway patrol report.