NHTSA investigates comma.ai’s openpilot over 5 crashes that killed 3

NHTSA has opened a formal investigation into comma.ai’s openpilot software after five crashes that killed three people. The probe covers an estimated 30,000 comma three, comma three X, and comma four devices. The agency’s Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) has identified the last three generations of hardware and openpilot itself as the subject of the investigation. ODI claims it learned about the crashes through crash reports, a consumer complaint, and outreach to police. The investigation includes five crash report IDs, four of which are in the public data. The fatal crash in Louisiana occurred in February 2026, and the other four crashes involved stopped vehicles in the lane ahead of the driver.

• comma’s own marketing claims that openpilot can drive for hours without intervention, but the company’s fine print states the driver must be alert and ready to take over at all times.
• comma’s crash reports include a disclaimer that it provides information “without agreeing with NHTSA’s interpretations or conceding that comma is obligated to respond to the General Order.”
• comma claims to be second only to Tesla in hands-free miles driven, with over 400 million miles logged by its devices.
• The crash reports show a consistent pattern: highway speeds and a stopped vehicle in the lane ahead.

NHTSA is looking at the same failure mode that led to Tesla Autopilot investigations. The agency says if a modified version of openpilot is involved in a crash, it will evaluate it and consider the components shared between openpilot and the fork. Popular community forks like sunnypilot and FrogPilot are built on the same driving model and code base.

The investigation highlights the risks of open-source software and the responsibility of automakers. comma’s approach has been to point at third-party software as a defense, but NHTSA may take a different stance. A preliminary evaluation can take months, and it can end quietly or escalate to an engineering analysis and a recall. With 30,000 devices on the road and three people dead, what does a recall even look like for software anyone can fork on GitHub? If you’re driving an EV, powering it with home solar can cut your fuel costs to nearly zero. With electricity rates up almost 10% last year and expected to keep climbing, going solar is one of the best ways to protect yourself against rising costs. And with lease and PPA options, you can do it with zero upfront cost and start saving immediately. If you want to find the best deal, check out EnergySage. It’s a free service with hundreds of pre-vetted installers competing for your business, so you save 20 to 30% compared to going it alone. No sales calls until you pick an installer. Get your free quotes here.

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