Tesla Reports 236 Autopilot Crashes to NHTSA in July 2026, Including 4 Fatalities

In July 2026, Tesla submitted 236 reports of crashes involving its driver-assistance systems to the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Under a standing administrative order issued by NHTSA in 2021, automakers are required to report any crash if a driver-assistance system was active within 30 seconds of the incident. Data shows that Tesla’s monthly crash reports rose from 135 in March to 207 in May, 209 in June, and 236 in July. In all of 2021, Tesla reported 157 crashes related to its driver-assistance systems. Among the 236 reports filed for July were four fatal crashes, which occurred in Upper Marlboro, Maryland; San Mateo, California; Ione, California; and Ashby, Minnesota. In all four reports, Tesla marked the status as “verified activation” (referring to vehicle driver-assistance systems, including Autopilot and Full Self-Driving), and redacted three fields: crash narrative, software version, and whether the incident occurred within an approved operational area. Tesla told regulators that disclosing this information would cause the company “financial harm.” By contrast, General Motors did not redact the narrative field in its post-crash reports concerning incidents involving its Super Cruise driver-assistance system. Regarding fatality counts, each report records only one individual with the “highest injury severity.” Although three people died in the Maryland crash and two in the Minnesota crash, each report listed only one fatality. Altogether, the four fatal crashes resulted in at least seven deaths.