With Tesla Motors’ (NASDAQ: TSLA) autonomous driving technology – FSD – coming ever closer to widespread use, some 12 years after being initially discussed, questions about safety are becoming increasingly important.
Though proponents of Elon Musk have been adamant about the safety and comfort of riding in a vehicle operated by the software, there has been no shortage of critics variously questioning the number of miles that pass on average without needed human intervention or the viability of the system given it is reliant on visual awareness.
How many traffic fatalities involved Tesla FSD?
Such concerns are only exacerbated by the data retrieved on January 31, 2025, from the grimly named Tesla Deaths, which indicates there have been a total of 52 confirmed and 55 claimed autopilot deaths.
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Furthermore, despite FSD – the more modern and advanced version that provides the vehicles with greater autonomy – coming out relatively recently, two alleged deaths have already been recorded.
Notably, the figures represent the totals in a dataset going back to 2013. Furthermore, only a relatively small number of deaths – five confirmed and two claimed but unconfirmed – involving both autopilot and FSD occurred in 2024, the year when FSD hit the street for many Tesla owners.
Still, though traffic fatalities have become something of an accepted fact of modern life, and despite the figures being relatively low, tracking the data on deaths related to any company involved with self-driving technology remains pivotal given what appears to be an imminent proliferation of cars lacking human drivers.
Why investors should keep track of Tesla FSD accidents
The situation is also important for investors – and, arguably, Tesla investors in particular – as technological innovation has been an important element in the ‘growth story’ that many car manufacturers have been pitching.
Elon Musk has been particularly active in working to alter the perception of his electric vehicle (EV) makers into a big tech mainstay. Many of his claims have been proven false by the lack of product delivery, with the promises of the rollout of the highest level of autonomous driving being a particularly cited example.
In 2025, TSLA stock’s bull case once again, in large part, hinges on Musk’s announcement of ‘Robotaxis’ hitting the streets and even of commercial availability of the humanoid ‘Optimus’ robots.
While it remains unclear if the announcements will, this time, turn into concrete offerings, Tesla investors appear confident that the company is headed towards becoming a true technology and car manufacturing hybrid.
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This is best exemplified by TSLA shares, which have risen 119.70% in the last 12 months to $414.92 despite the early January deliveries report showing the firm’s first-ever year-over-year (YoY) decline.
Similarly, the confidence can be seen in the Tesla stock rally that occurred through January 30 and in the early trading on January 31 in spite of the latest earnings report, which significantly underperformed as, for instance, revenue came in approximately $1.5 billion lower than expected.
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