The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is nearing the completion of its extensive investigation into the safety of Tesla’s driver assistance systems. In a report by Reuters’ David Shepardson, NHTSA acting administrator Ann Carlson revealed that the investigation is coming to a close. This report was later confirmed by CNBC and federal vehicle safety regulators. While no additional details were disclosed by the NHTSA spokesperson, they did confirm their comments to Reuters. It is important to note that the agency typically does not comment on ongoing investigations.
This safety probe into Tesla’s driver assistance systems, which are now marketed as Autopilot, Full Self-Driving (FSD), and FSD Beta options in the U.S., was launched in 2021. The investigation was prompted by a series of crashes involving Tesla vehicles equipped with these systems. In these crashes, it was believed that the drivers were relying on Tesla’s driver assistance features and struck stationary vehicles belonging to first responders.
Despite the names of these features, it is crucial to understand that Tesla’s driver assistance features do not make their vehicles autonomous or capable of functioning as robotaxis like General Motors-owned Cruise or Alphabet’s Waymo. Tesla vehicles still require a human driver who is ready to intervene and take control of the steering or braking whenever necessary. The Autopilot and Full Self-Driving systems offered by Tesla only control braking, steering, and acceleration under specific circumstances.
Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla, has often made statements implying that Tesla cars are autonomous. For instance, he responded to a tweet on his social network X (formerly Twitter) about the capabilities of Tesla’s Full Self-Driving (FSD) system. Musk mentioned that he sometimes forgets that most people are unaware that cars are capable of driving themselves.
Tesla explicitly advises drivers in their owners’ manuals to keep their hands on the steering wheel at all times, pay attention to road conditions and surrounding traffic, and be prepared to take immediate action. Failure to follow these instructions can result in damage, serious injuries, or even death. Tesla also incorporates a driver-monitoring system in their vehicles. This system uses in-cabin cameras and steering wheel sensors to monitor whether the driver is paying sufficient attention to the road and their driving responsibilities. If the system detects a lack of attention, it will send alerts to the driver through chimes and messages on the car’s touch screen.
Tesla has previously issued voluntary recalls for its vehicles due to other issues with their Autopilot and FSD Beta features. The company has also committed to providing over-the-air software updates to address these problems. However, in July, the NHTSA demanded additional data on the performance of Tesla’s driver assistance systems to evaluate their safety.
The NHTSA regularly publishes data on car crashes in the U.S. involving advanced driver assistance systems, including Tesla’s Autopilot, Full Self-Driving, and FSD Beta. These systems are classified as “level 2” under industry standards established by SAE International. According to the latest crash report published by the NHTSA, there have been at least 26 incidents resulting in fatalities involving Tesla vehicles equipped with level 2 systems between August 2019 and mid-July 2022. In 23 of these incidents, the NHTSA states that Tesla’s driver assistance features were active within 30 seconds before the collision. The usage of these features remains uncertain in the remaining three incidents.
It is worth noting that Ford Motor is the only other automaker that has reported a fatal collision involving one of its vehicles equipped with a level 2 driver assistance system. However, it is unclear whether the system was engaged before the crash, according to the NHTSA report.
Tesla has not provided any comment regarding the ongoing investigation.
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