NEW YORK: US safety officials opened a preliminary investigation into Tesla’s Autopilot after identifying 11 crashes involving the driver assistance system, officials said Monday.

The incidents dating back to 2018 included one fatal crash and seven that resulted in injuries to 17 people, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

NHTSA “is committed to ensuring the highest standards of safety on the nation’s roadways,” an agency spokesperson said. “In keeping with the agency’s core safety mission and to better understand the causes of certain Tesla crashes, NHTSA is opening a preliminary evaluation into Tesla Autopilot systems.”

Tesla founder Elon Musk has defended the Autopilot system and the electric automaker warns that it requires “active driver supervision” behind the wheel, but critics, including in Congress, say the system can be easily fooled and have called for NHTSA to take action.

Tesla did not immediately respond to an AFP request for comment.

The crashes cited by NHTSA involved incidents in which “various Tesla models crashed” in instances where responders were involved, including “some that crashed directly into the vehicles of first responders,” the NHTSA spokesperson said.

Three of the crashes took place in California, with other incidents taking place in Florida, Texas and Massachusetts, among other states. The probe covers models Y, X, S and 3, NHTSA said.

“A preliminary evaluation starts the agency’s fact-finding mission and allows additional information and data to be collected,” a NHTSA spokesperson said.

“NHTSA reminds the public that no commercially available motor vehicles today are capable of driving themselves,” the spokesperson said.

“Certain advanced driving assistance features can promote safety by helping drivers avoid crashes and mitigate the severity of crashes that occur, but as with all technologies and equipment on motor vehicles, drivers must use them correctly and responsibly.”

News of the probe sent Tesla shares sharply lower Monday.

Musk has a history of skirmishing with regulators, but the controversies have had little effect on Tesla’s ascendance over the last year and a half as the company has hit key production targets.

His success in building Tesla from a fledgling startup into an industry pacesetter on electric cars has stood out more as other electric auto startups like Lordstown Motors and Nikola have stumbled.