Tesla must submit extensive new logs to the National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration as part of an Autopilot safety investigation, or else face hefty fines.
Yeah tesla is not providing the federal agency with information about its advanced driver assistance systems, which are marketed as Autopilot, Full Autonomous Driving and FSD Beta options in the US, to a letter posted on the NHTSA website on Thursday.
NHTSA launched an investigation into Autopilot safety in 2021 after identifying a series of crashes in which Tesla vehicles using Autopilot collided with stationary first responder vehicles and highway work vehicles.
To date, none of Tesla’s driver assistance systems are autonomous and the company’s cars cannot function as robotaxis like those operated by Cruise or Waymo. Instead, Tesla vehicles require a driver behind the wheel, ready to turn or brake at a moment’s notice. The autopilot and FSD only control braking, steering, and acceleration in limited circumstances.
Among other details, the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Authority wants information about which versions of Tesla software, hardware, and other components were installed in every car sold, leased, or in use in the U.S. The date any Tesla vehicle was “admitted into the ‘Full Autonomous Driving Beta’ Program”.
The company’s FSD beta consists of driver assistance features that have been tested internally but not fully debugged. Tesla uses its customers as vehicle and software safety testers through the FSD Beta program, rather than relying on professional safety drivers, as is the industry standard.
Tesla previously performed voluntary withdrawals of their cars due to issues with Autopilot and FSD Beta and promised to deliver over-the-air software updates that would fix the issues.
A notice on the NHTSA website in February 2023 said that Tesla’s FSD Beta driver assistance system may “allow the vehicle to act in an unsafe manner at intersections, such as traveling in a straight line through an intersection at a turn-only lane, entering an intersection controlled by stop signs.” without coming to a complete stop, or proceeding to an intersection during a steady yellow traffic signal without due caution.”
According to data tracked by NHTSA, there are 21 collisions have been known resulting in deaths involving Tesla vehicles equipped with the company’s driver assistance systems, more than any other automaker offering a similar system.
according to a separate letter Thursday, NHTSA is also reviewing a request for a automotive safety investigatorRonald Belt, who asked the agency to reopen an earlier investigation to determine the underlying causes of the “unintended sudden acceleration” events that were reported to NHTSA.
With sudden unintended acceleration events, a driver may be parked or driving at a normal speed when their car unexpectedly lurches forward, potentially leading to a collision.
Tesla’s vice president of vehicle engineering, Lars Moravy, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Read the full letter from NHTSA to Tesla requesting extensive new records.
