Tesla investigation deepens after more than a dozen US ‘Autopilot’ crashes
US federal regulators are deepening their investigation into Tesla’s Autopilot function after more than a dozen Tesla cars crashed into parked first-responder vehicles over a period of four years.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said on Thursday it was upgrading its preliminary investigation, which launched last August, to an “engineering analysis”, which is taken before the agency determines a recall.
The investigation covers all four Tesla vehicles – Models Y, X, S and 3 – representing about 830,000 vehicles that have been sold in the US.
The investigation is focused on Tesla’s Autopilot feature, which is supposed to help drivers navigate roads through artificial intelligence, which detects other vehicles. The company instructs drivers to pay attention to the road and keep their hands on the steering wheel while using Autopilot, though some drivers have used Autopilotdrunk or sitting in the backseat of the car.
The 16 crashes at the base of the investigation took place between January 2018 and January 2022 and resulted in 15 injuries and one death. In documents posted to its website, NHTSA said forensic data indicates that the majority of the drivers had their hands on the steering wheel before impact and were complying with the system as it was designed to be used.
The agency said this as the investigation specifically looks into whether the Autopilot feature ultimately undermines “the effectiveness of driver’s supervision”.
NHTSA, in a separate investigation, is looking into a separate batch of complaints that have been filed against Tesla vehicles that suddenly brake at high speeds, otherwise known as “phantom braking”. The agency has received more than 750 complaints relating to the problem,
Read more on theguardian.com
