Comma.ai is facing a federal investigation after five reported crashes involving its aftermarket hands-off driver assistance technology — including two crashes that resulted in three deaths — TechCrunch reported Wednesday.
NHTSA’s Office of Defects Investigation says the crashes involved devices failing to detect or respond to slow or stopped vehicles in the same lane. Across four of the crashes, as many as 11 people were injured, some seriously. Some crashes, including at least one fatal, may have involved forked or modified Comma software.
The company, founded in 2015 by George Hotz, sells devices plus openpilot software that control adaptive cruise control and automated lane centering in a mode similar to Tesla Autopilot or GM Super Cruise, with camera-based driver monitoring and a requirement that drivers be able to retake control.
One fatal case: in February 2026 in Ascension Parish, Louisiana, a 2022 Toyota RAV4 running FrogPilot — a third-party openpilot fork — struck a stopped, fully marked Gonzales Police Department unit with emergency lights on; two rear-seat passengers died, according to Louisiana State Police. Comma’s site warns that ACC performance can be affected by non-moving vehicles in the lane and that abrupt braking is limited. Tesla and Ford have faced similar stopped-object probes.
Sources: TechCrunch (Sean O’Kane)
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