- The NHTSA has opened a new investigation against Tesla’s FDS software after 4 accidents under low-visibility conditions were reported.
- One pedestrian was killed in one of these accidents.
- The investigation has been split into 4 parts and is expected to end within 8 months.
On Friday, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s (NHTSA) Office of Defects Investigation announced a new investigation against Tesla’s “Full Self-Driving (Supervised)” software after 4 accidents in low-visibility situations were reported. In one of these accidents, a pedestrian was killed.
- The first accident happened in November 2023 in Rimrock, Arizona where a Model Y killed a pedestrian.
- The second one happened in January 2024 in Nipton, California, involving a Model 3.
- The third one happened in March, again involving a Model 3. Owing to cloud conditions, it accidentally rammed into another car on the highway in Red Mills, Virginia.
- The last one happened in May, again involving a Model 3 that rammed into a stationary object in Collinsville, Ohio owing to foggy conditions. Someone was injured in this crash but it wasn’t fatal.
More About the Investigation
The investigation has been split into 4 stages:
- Defect Petition
- Preliminary Evaluation
- Recall Query
- Engineering Analysis
In the preliminary stage, the investigation will pertain to the 2.4 million Tesla EVs that are running on U.S. roads. This includes vehicles from Model S and X (which first came out in 2016), Model 3 cars (Which came out in 2017), Model Y vehicles (Which came out in 2020), and Cybertrucks, which came out last year.
Although the FSD (which is now referred to as a partial driving automation system) is a paid feature, the company had offered a free month-long trial to many US drivers previously, putting a much larger population at risk.
Last but not least, the agency will also take a look into the over-the-air, software updates the company sent to its FSD systems. This is to check whether the company had any idea of these vulnerabilities and if they issued any updates for it.
The agency hasn’t announced any fixed deadline on when this investigation can be completed but usually these types of probes are completed within 8 months.
Tesla has yet to address the investigation. But previously, when complaints about its auto driving systems were pouring in, the company had said that it always warns customers to keep an eye on it and be ready to take over in case the system fails.
However, given how it markets and boasts about its systems’ abilities, this is no justification for such safety issues.
Tesla’s History With the NHTSA
Tesla’s biggest USP is its driving assistance software yet they have been subject to multiple long-term investigations over the years.
Tesla also went through a series of recalls. Most recently, the company had to recall 11,000 Cybertrucks in June 2024 due to faulty windshield wipers and falling trim pieces – its fourth recall of the vehicle.
On the one hand, it’s dealing with so much legal trouble with its automated driving system, and on the other hand, Musk finally unveiled the prototype for his upcoming robotaxi line called “Cybercabs”.
At the same event, Musk also claimed that Model 3 sedan and Model Y SUV will be able to operate in California and Texas without supervision.
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Krishi Chowdhary Journalist 
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