The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has launched a preliminary investigation into Tesla’s Full Self-Driving (FSD) system following several crashes, including a fatality. The federal inquiry is set to determine whether the partial-automation system is defective, particularly in reduced visibility conditions such as fog.
According to NHTSA, four crashes have been reported where Tesla vehicles operating on FSD failed to respond appropriately in poor visibility scenarios. One of these crashes involved a pedestrian fatality, while another resulted in injury.
The preliminary evaluation was opened to assess FSD’s ability to detect and respond appropriately to reduced roadway visibility conditions; whether any other similar FSD crashes have occurred in reduced roadway visibility conditions and, if so, the contributing circumstances for those crashes; and any updates or modifications from Tesla to the FSD system that may affect its performance in reduced roadway visibility conditions.
In particular, the review will assess the timing, purpose and capabilities of any such updates, as well as Tesla’s assessment of their safety impact.
Despite Tesla’s ongoing development and the hefty $8,000 price tag for its FSD system, drivers must still supervise the vehicle at all times.
Tesla representatives did not respond to requests for comment regarding the investigation.
NHTSA’s probe comes just weeks after the agency launched a separate investigation into Tesla's Autopilot system, another driver-assistance feature, amid concerns that users were over-relying on the technology.
The agency found a safety gap between driver expectations of Autopilot's capabilities and its actual performance, resulting in misuse and avoidable accidents.
In April, NHTSA identified 211 instances where Tesla vehicles crashed while Autopilot was engaged, despite drivers having sufficient time to prevent the collisions.
Tesla has yet to clarify how it plans to address these safety concerns.
The investigations could complicate Tesla CEO Elon Musk's vision for establishing the company as a leader in fully autonomous vehicles. The company's stock dropped 1% following news of the latest probe, further compounded by investor disappointment over Tesla’s recent unveiling of robotaxi prototypes, which lacked concrete details on how Tesla would achieve its autonomous driving goals.
