US regulators to investigate 765,000 Tesla cars over Autopilot crash reports

KUALA LUMPUR: Following a series of crashes, the US auto safety regulator, National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA), opened a formal investigation into Tesla’s advanced driver-assistance system called Autopilot. Since 2018, It has identified a total of eleven crashes (four in 2021) that happened when the vehicles had been using Autopilot. According to the regulator, the crashes have killed one woman and left 17 injured.

For those who are unaware, Tesla Autopilot is a limited self-driving feature that enables the vehicle to steer, accelerate and brake automatically within its lane. 

As per the reports, most of the crashes took place at night, even though the locations had a number of alert measures for the drivers, like illuminated signboards, flashing lights, and cones. Prior to the collision, either Autopilot or Traffic Aware Cruise Control was in action in all the incidents, the agency says.

These reports led the NHTSA to take action of investigating all Tesla cars equipped with the Autopilot Level 2 driver assistance tech, built between 2014 and 2021. The regulators will assess the whole system rigorously, they will monitor its responses and the ways it helps the driver. How the system detects and responds to objects and events in case of emergencies will also be assessed during the investigation.

“The investigation will assess the technologies and methods used to monitor, assist, and enforce the driver’s engagement with the dynamic driving task during Autopilot operation,” the agency says. It will also “assess the OEDR by vehicles when engaged in Autopilot mode, and ODD in which the Autopilot mode is functional.”

A total of 765,000 Tesla cars will be investigated that covers all currently available models - Model S, Model X, Model Y, and Model 3. The investigation may result in enforcement action by the agency, such as a recall.

After the NHTSA announcement, Tesla's share price dipped by 4.32% yesterday.

Also read: Tesla Model 2 Hatchback reportedly in the works