A man who filmed his car’s autopilot mode avoid a crash last month has become the first to die at the hands of the new technology.

Joshua Brown was killed on a Florida highway when the autopilot feature of his Tesla Model S failed to brake in time.

It was the first fatality involving Tesla’s automatic driving feature and the crash has sparked an investigation by US safety regulators.

The crash happened when a tractor crossed the highway and Brown’s car failed to stop.

The car’s windscreen slammed into the trailer at high speed.

A Tesla statement said the crash was a "tragic loss" and the first known fatality in more than "130 million miles (209 million km)".

"Neither the Autopilot nor the driver noticed the white side of the tractor trailer against a brightly lit sky, so the brake was not applied," Tesla’s statement said.

"Had the Model S impacted the front or rear of the trailer, even at high speed, its advanced crash safety system would likely have prevented serious injury as it has in numerous other similar incidents.”

Tesla said it was the responsibility of the driver to activate autopilot and "you need to maintain control and responsibility for your vehicle” while using the feature.

The manual of the car, the premium model of which costs more than $200,000, says drivers must have their hands on the wheel even with autopilot engaged.

Joshua Brown, 40, and had only a month earlier posted a video of the Tesla avoiding a crash while on autopilot.