Two fatal accidents involving the Tesla Model 3, which occurred in Florida and Arizona, happened while the driving assistance system was active.

Electrek's publication discovered that Tesla's driver assistance system was active during two fatal accidents. The first accident occurred on October 6, 2022, in Florida, when a 43-year-old man died after his Tesla Model 3 stopped in an active traffic lane and was hit from behind by a truck. The second similar accident happened on October 31, 2025, in Arizona, where another Tesla driver was also killed after the vehicle suddenly stopped. Reports filed by Tesla with the NHTSA confirm that the autonomous driving systems were active at the time of the accidents, suggesting a correlation between their activation and the fatal incidents. The "phantom braking" issue has been reported by drivers and is the subject of a class action lawsuit in the U.S., while a similar case is advancing in Australia, where an independent investigation into Tesla's engineering is being requested.