Tesla Driver In First Self-Drive Fatal Crash

The US government is investigating the first known fatal crash involving a car in self-drive mode.

Joshua Brown was killed when his Tesla Model S smashed into a turning tractor-trailer after its cameras failed to distinguish the vehicle's white side from a bright sky.

When firefighters arrived at the scene in Williston, Florida, the car - with its roof cleaved off completely - had come to rest in a yard hundreds of feet from the crash site.

Mr Brown, from Canton, Ohio, was pronounced dead at the scene.

Frank Baressi, the 62-year-old driver of the other vehicle involved in the crash, told AP the Tesla was travelling so quickly that "he went so fast through my trailer I didn't see him".

Mr Brown was a Navy SEAL for 11 years and founder of Nexu Innovations Inc, a tech company specialising in wireless internet networks and camera systems.

He was an enthusiastic promoter of Tesla cars and posted a video which he said showed his vehicle's Autopilot avoiding a crash when a truck swerved in front of him.

Tesla founder Elon Musk expressed "Our condolences for the tragic loss" in a tweet on Thursday.

In a statement, the company did not identify Mr Brown but said he was "a friend to Tesla and the broader EV (electric vehicle) community, a person who spent his life focused on innovation and the promise of technology and who believed strongly in Tesla's mission".

Tesla also stressed the shortcomings of self-drive technology, saying: "Autopilot is getting better all the time, but it is not perfect and still requires the driver to remain alert."

The company said this was the first known death in over 130 million miles of Autopilot operation.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's Office of Defects, which is handling the investigation, said the opening of a preliminary evaluation should not be construed as a finding that the government believes the Model S is defective.

Elon Musk has been bullish about Autopilot, even as Tesla warns owners the feature is not for all conditions and not sophisticated enough for the driver stop paying attention to the road.

He has claimed the feature reduces the probability of having an accident by 50% and in January he said it is "probably better than a person right now".