A Tesla mystery: Why didn't auto-braking stop these crashes?

In 2020 and the first three quarters of 2021, NHTSA received 131 complaints about Tesla's system, compared with 55 for Mercedes-Benz, 28 for Audi and 14 for Volvo. — Dreamstime/TNS

On a rainy winter night in December 2019, college student Maria Smith found herself followed by a state trooper, police lights flashing, on Massachusetts' Route 24. She pulled over to the side of the road. Then: Smack! Something had hit her car from behind, shattering her rear window. "I was scared," she said.

A Tesla running in Autopilot mode had slammed into the state trooper's cruiser, knocking it into Smith's car.