Tesla Deaths is a record of Tesla accidents that involved a driver, occupant, cyclist, motorcyclist, or pedestrian death, whether or not the Tesla or its driver were at fault

Tesla Deaths

An updated record of Tesla fatalities and Tesla accident deaths that have been reported and as much related crash data as possible (e.g. location of crash, names of deceased, etc.). This sheet also tallies claimed and confirmed Tesla autopilot crashes, i.e. instances when Autopilot was activated during a Tesla crash that resulted in death. Read our other sheets for additional data and analysis on vehicle miles traveled, links and analysis comparing Musk's safety claims, and more.

Latest update: Latest CA and China crashes added.(link)

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: What do these fatality numbers indicate? What can we compare them to?

The IIHS periodically releases data about car by type and, according to its 2017 model year dataset, plenty of so-called midsized luxury models from traditional car manufacturers (Mercedes, Lexus, etc.) experienced far fewer total fatalities than Tesla (this is even without taking into consideration existing inventory numbers). This is the closest categorization to apply to Tesla's as they certainly are not cheap, what with the total cost of a hard-to-find standard Model 3 is still more than 35,000 USD.

Available at IIHS.org

As of , we are aware of the following non-Tesla electric vehicle deaths:
November 9, 2020: Chevrolet - Bolt - 1 death (https://kyiv.24tv.ua/ru/kieve-legkovushka-nasmert-sbil-policejskij-kriminalnye-novosti-ukrainy_n1455187)
Feb 28, 2020: Renault - Zoe - 2 deaths (https://www.dailyecho.co.uk/news/18268675.two-women-die-serious-car-crash-a27-near-chichester/ )
June 18, 2020: Jaguar - IPace - 1 death (https://www.bt.no/nyheter/lokalt/i/vQa4ym/19-aaring-doede-etter-ulykke-paa-soeraas)
July 31, 2019: Nissan - Leaf - 1 death (https://www.pipestonestar.com/articles/collision-claims-life-of-71-year-old-balaton-woman/)
May 29, 2012: BYD - e6 electric taxi - 1 death (https://www.greencarreports.com/news/1076517_byd-e6-electric-taxi-burns-after-112-mph-drunk-supercar-driver-crash)

Q: Why do you include deaths where the Tesla was not at fault?

NHTSA death statistics cited by Elon Musk do not differentiate between at-fault and not-at-fault. All manufacturers are treated the same way. For the purposes of calculating Tesla fatalities in accordance with NHTSA methodology,
I also do not include the many deaths in other vehicles, despite Teslas being at fault in the majority of those cases.

Q: Why do you include deaths in other vehicles, as well as pedestrian and cyclist deaths?

There is also a column that shows only driver deaths.

Q: Your data captures all driving miles. But Autopilot is safer!

See the Jalopnik article on the Resources tab, which discusses the NHTSA coverup of Autopilot data.

Q: You are just counting deaths in news articles. You can't base any conclusions on that.

Deaths reported in news articles are a lower bound on Tesla deaths and Tesla accidents in general.

Q: Tesla only has 3x the driver deaths of luxury vehicles because you're comparing Tesla to Lamborghinis and Bugattis that are seldom driven.

No. The 'Medium' article on the Resources tab compares Teslas to BMW, Lexus, and Mercedes.

Q: You include a death where a piece of concrete fell on a Tesla. That's absurd!

See the first question above. Auto fatality statistics include all deaths, no matter how absurd. So to compare Tesla to other vehicles, we need to include all deaths.