Tesla says autopilot was engaged during fatal crash

Electric car maker Tesla has confirmed the autopilot was engaged during a fatal crash last week, a development set to exacerbate concerns over the safety of autonomous vehicles.

A Tesla Model X collided with a highway barrier near the town of Mountain View in California on March 23, catching fire before it was struck by two other cars.

The driver, who was identified by The Mercury News as a 38-year-old man, Wei Huang, later died in hospital.

Tesla issued a blog post late Friday saying he had activated the autopilot but ignored several warnings.

"In the moments before the collision... autopilot was engaged with the adaptive cruise control follow-distance set to minimum," Tesla said.

"The driver had received several visual and one audible hands-on warning earlier in the drive and the driver's hands were not detected on the wheel for six seconds prior to the collision.

"The driver had about five seconds and 150 meters of unobstructed view of the concrete divider with the crushed crash attenuator, but the vehicle logs show that no action was taken."