The Dawn Project, which conducted the experiment, said the car failed to detect the presence of stationary dummies in the road and crashed into them repeatedly at an average speed of 25 miles per hour.
The experiment was conducted under “controlled conditions” on a test track in the US state of California, according to the Daily Mail.
The British newspaper said it had contacted the company, “Tesla”, its owner, businessman Elon Musk, to obtain a comment without a response.
For its part, the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) confirmed that it “currently has an open investigation of Tesla’s automated driving assistance system.”
A spokesperson said this includes the full self-driving program and that the agency is “considering all relevant data and information that may assist the investigation.”
According to Tesla’s website, the drive-control system that “adjusts the vehicle’s speed to surrounding traffic” is an essential part of Tesla’s Autopilot system.
The pilots released a video as part of a public safety advertising campaign highlighting the dangers of Tesla’s self-driving program.
The Dawn Project founder Dan O’Dowd told the Daily Mail: “These alarming results of a fully autonomous driving safety test are a shriek.”
“More than 100,000 Tesla drivers are using the car’s fully autonomous driving mode on public roads, putting children at great risk,” he added.
Musk has repeatedly emphasized that Tesla’s self-driving program is “amazing.”
The safety test took place at Willow Springs International Raceway and Test Track in Rosamund, California on June 21.
The experience was recorded, while the footage shows a “Tesla” car in full self-driving mode, repeatedly heading towards the small doll.
It is noteworthy that Tesla, the leading electric car giant, has recalled more than 285,000 cars from the Chinese market after an examination revealed problems in the driving assistance software that could cause road crashes.
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