Washington: The US auto safety regulator, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), has escalated its investigation into Tesla’s driver-assistance technology,
The investigation focuses on how effectively it detects deteriorating road and visibility conditions. The move follows nine crashes linked to the system, including one fatal incident and two that resulted in injuries.
The expanded probe now covers approximately 3.2 million vehicles across multiple models, representing nearly all Tesla vehicles sold in the United States. This marks a significant step forward in the investigation and could lead to a recall or other enforcement actions if regulators determine that a safety defect exists.
Central to the review is Tesla’s Full Self-Driving (FSD) system, a critical component of the company’s plans to deploy fully autonomous vehicles and robotaxis.
Regulators are specifically examining the system’s ‘degradation detection’ feature, which is intended to identify when visibility is compromised and alert drivers to take control of the vehicle.
According to the NHTSA, available data has raised concerns that the degradation detection system, both in its original version and following software updates, may not reliably detect reduced visibility or provide adequate warnings to drivers. Situations involving glare or other visual obstructions were highlighted as key areas where the system may have underperformed.
Tesla’s post-incident analysis suggested that a software update to the degradation detection system, if installed at the time, might have influenced the outcome in three of the nine crashes. However, in several cases reviewed by regulators, the system failed to recognise conditions that impaired camera visibility or only issued alerts moments before impact.
In addition to the nine identified crashes, regulators also found other incidents occurring in similar environments where the system either did not detect reduced visibility or failed to provide drivers with sufficient time to react. Tesla has not immediately responded to requests for comment on the investigation.
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