The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has almost finished its comprehensive inquiry into the security of Tesla's driver assistance packages. This investigation began in 2021 after multiple accidental collisions between Tesla automobiles and stationary emergency vehicles. Although Tesla's Autopilot, Full Self-Driving and FSD Beta systems are touted as offering autonomy, they in reality do not achieve that.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is reportedly nearing the end of its multiyear investigation into the safety of Tesla's driver assistance systems, a report first published by David Shepardson of Reuters and then confirmed by CNBC with the federal vehicle safety regulators. NHTSA would not comment on the investigation beyond confirming the statements to Reuters.
Tesla's driver assistance technology, marketed as Autopilot, Full Self-Driving, and FSD Beta in the U.S., was initially probed due to crashes involving drivers thought to be using these systems. It is important to note that none of these features make Tesla cars autonomous, as they are unable to operate like robotaxis by General Motors' Cruise or Alphabet's Waymo. Instead, the driver must always be at the wheel, ready to take control of the vehicle if necessary.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who owns the social network X (formerly Twitter), has often erroneously implied that these cars can operate autonomously, which Tesla reiterates in their owners' manuals is not the case. The manuals warn that drivers must keep their hands on the steering wheel at all times and be mindful of the road. Tesla cars have driver-monitoring systems to detect if the driver is paying attention, but these have not been confirmed to be adequate safeguards.
Tesla has previously conducted voluntary recalls due to Autopilot and FSD Beta issues, and in July NHTSA required the automaker to send more extensive data on their driver assistance systems. NHTSA's report on car crashes in the U.S. that utilized advanced driver assistance systems revealed at least 26 fatalities between Aug. 1, 2019 and mid-July 2021 in Tesla cars with these features in use within 30 seconds of the collision in 23 incidents; in three incidents, it is unconfirmed if these features were used. Ford Motor's vehicles have been associated with one fatal crash involving a level 2 driver assistance system, but it is not known if the system was engaged prior to the collision. Tesla has not responded to a request for comment.
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