Tesla's 'Full Self-Driving' Software Under Federal Investigation Following Fatal Crashes

Musk's Tesla probed by US over safety of self-driving software

Tesla did not immediately reply on Friday to a BBC inquiry about the investigation. NHTSA's preliminary evaluation follows four crash reports involving the use of Tesla's "Full Self-Driving", or FSD, software. The agency said the crashes involved reduced roadway visibility, with fog or glares from the sun. One of the incidents involved a Telsa fatally striking a pedestrian, and another involved someone being injured, NHTSA said. The evaluation aims to determine if Tesla's self-driving systems can detect and appropriately respond to reduced visibility conditions. It also will examine if other self-driving crashes have happened under similar conditions. In its notice, the agency noted that despite the label, full self-driving is actually "a partial driving automation system". NHTSA's announcement comes one week after Mr Musk's glitzy rollout of the Cybercab at the Warner Bros. studio lot in Burbank, California. At the event, Mr Musk said the fully autonomous robotaxi concept, which operates without pedals or a steering wheel, would be on the market by 2027. But some analysts and investors were unimpressed. The company's stock is down 8% since the Cybercab rollout. Shares were mostly steady after the notice from NHTSA. Unlike Waymo, the self-driving venture operated by Google-parent Alphabet, Tesla's autonomous systems rely largely on cameras and artificial intelligence. Mr Musk's approach costs less than deploying high-tech sensors like Lidar and radar, which are critical to Waymo's driverless car program.

Tesla's 'full self-driving' feature probed by feds after several...

The federal government is investigating Tesla's "Full Self-Driving" software after several crashes that were blamed on the system, including one that led to a fatality. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration on Friday said it was opening an investigation into 2.4 million Tesla vehicles with the automaker's Full Self-Driving software after four reported collisions. The US auto safety regulator said it was opening the preliminary evaluation after four reports of crashes where FSD was engaged during reduced roadway visibility like sun glare, fog, or airborne dust. In one crash, "the Tesla vehicle fatally struck a pedestrian. One additional crash in these conditions involved a reported injury," NHTSA said. The probe covers 2016-2024 Model S and X vehicles with the optional system as well as 2017-2024 Model 3, 2020-2024 Model Y, and 2023-2024 Cybertruck vehicles. The preliminary evaluation is the first step before the agency could seek to demand a recall of the vehicles if it believes they pose an unreasonable risk to safety. Tesla says on its website its "Full Self-Driving" software in on-road vehicles requires active driver supervision and does not make vehicles autonomous. NHTSA is reviewing the ability of FSD's engineering controls to "detect and respond appropriately to reduced roadway visibility conditions." The agency is asking if other similar FSD crashes have occurred in reduced roadway visibility conditions, and if Tesla has updated or modified the FSD system in a way that may affect it in reduced roadway visibility conditions. NHTSA said the "review will assess the timing, purpose, and capabilities of any such updates, as well as Tesla's assessment of their safety impact." Tesla CEO Elon Musk is seeking to shift Tesla's focus to self-driving technology and robotaxis amid competition and weak demand in its auto business. The company did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Its shares were down 0.5% before the bell. Last week, Musk unveiled Tesla's two-seater, two-door "Cybercab" robotaxi concept without a steering wheel and pedals that would use cameras and artificial intelligence to help navigate roads. Tesla would need NHTSA approval to deploy a vehicle without human controls. Tesla's FSD technology has been in development for years and aims for high automation, where its vehicle can handle most driving tasks without human intervention. But it has faced legal scrutiny with at least two fatal accidents involving the technology, including an incident in April in which a Tesla Model S car was in Full Self-Driving mode when it hit and killed a 28-year-old motorcyclist in the Seattle area. Tesla's "camera-only" approach to partially and fully autonomous driving systems, some industry experts have said, could cause issues in low-visibility conditions as the vehicles do not have a set of back-up sensors. "Weather conditions can impact the camera's ability to see things and I think the regulatory environment will certainly weigh in on this," said Jeff Schuster, vice president at GlobalData. "That could be one of the major roadblocks in what I would call a near-term launch of this technology and these products." Tesla's rivals that operate robotaxis rely on expensive sensors such as lidar and radar to detect driving environments. The company had in December recalled more than 2 million vehicles in the US to install new safeguards in its Autopilot advanced driver-assistance system. NHTSA is still probing whether that recall is adequate.

US investigates 2.4m Tesla self-driving vehicles after reported collisions

Road safety agency opens evaluation over reported collisions in low visibility The US government's road safety agency has opened an investigation into 2.4m Tesla vehicles with the automaker's Full Self-Driving software after four reported collisions, including a fatal crash. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) on Friday said it was opening the preliminary evaluation after four reports of crashes where Full Self-Driving was engaged during reduced roadway visibility like sun glare, fog or airborne dust. In one crash "the Tesla vehicle fatally struck a pedestrian. One additional crash in these conditions involved a reported injury," NHTSA said. The investigation covers 2016-2024 Model S and X vehicles with the optional system as well as 2017-2024 Model 3, 2020-2024 Model Y, and 2023-2024 Cybertruck vehicles. The preliminary evaluation is the first step before the agency could seek to demand a recall of the vehicles if it believes they pose an unreasonable risk to safety. Tesla says on its website its "Full Self-Driving" software in on-road vehicles requires active driver supervision and does not make vehicles autonomous. NHTSA is reviewing the ability of FSD's engineering controls to "detect and respond appropriately to reduced roadway visibility conditions." The agency is asking if other similar FSD crashes have occurred in reduced roadway visibility conditions, and if Tesla has updated or modified the FSD system in a way that may affect it in reduced roadway visibility conditions. NHTSA said the "review will assess the timing, purpose, and capabilities of any such updates, as well as Tesla's assessment of their safety impact", the agency said. The Tesla CEO, Elon Musk, is seeking to shift Tesla's focus to self-driving technology and robotaxis amid competition and weak demand in its auto business. The company did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Its shares were down 0.5% before the bell. Last week, Musk unveiled Tesla's two-seater, two-door "Cybercab" robotaxi concept without a steering wheel and pedals that would use cameras and artificial intelligence to help navigate roads. Tesla would need NHTSA approval to deploy a vehicle without human controls. Tesla's FSD technology has been in development for years and aims for high automation, where its vehicle can handle most driving tasks without human intervention. But it has faced legal scrutiny, with at least two fatal accidents involving the technology, including an incident in April in which a Tesla Model S car was in Full Self-Driving mode when it hit and killed a 28-year-old motorcyclist in the Seattle area. Tesla's "camera-only" approach to partially and fully autonomous driving systems, some industry experts have said, could cause issues in low-visibility conditions as the vehicles do not have a set of back-up sensors. "Weather conditions can impact the camera's ability to see things and I think the regulatory environment will certainly weigh in on this," said Jeff Schuster, vice-president at GlobalData. "That could be one of the major roadblocks in what I would call a near-term launch of this technology and these products." Tesla's rivals that operate robotaxis rely on expensive sensors such as lidar and radar to detect driving environments. The company had in December recalled more than 2m vehicles in the US to install new safeguards in its Autopilot advanced driver-assistance system. NHTSA is still investigating whether that recall is adequate.

Tesla software under investigation after collisions

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) opened an investigation into Tesla's Full Self Driving (FSD) software on Thursday after the system was reportedly involved in four crashes, including one that killed a pedestrian. The agency said it is investigating the system's "potential failure to detect and disengage in specific situations where it cannot adequately operate." The four reported crashes occurred when FSD was engaged and the car encountered reduced visibility, such as sun glare, fog or dust, according to NHTSA. In one of the crashes, a pedestrian was struck and killed. The investigation covers about 2.4 million Tesla vehicles, including most model years of the Model S, Model X, Model 3, Model Y and Cybertruck. Tesla's FSD software is meant to allow the car to operate with "minimal driver intervention," although the electric vehicle maker's website notes that it does not make the car autonomous. The investigation comes just one week after Tesla CEO Elon Musk unveiled the company's long-awaited robotaxi. The billionaire showed off a fleet of fully autonomous vehicles with no steering wheels or pedals at the highly choreographed event at Warner Bros. Studios. He argued that the "Cybercab" would be safer than any human driver given that the artificial intelligence (AI) behind the robotaxi is trained on numerous cars and has more experience than a human ever could. Tesla did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the NHTSA investigation.

Tesla's "Full Self-Driving" system faces probe after pedestrian death

Tesla is facing scrutiny by federal regulators after a report that the electric car maker's "Full Self-Driving" system may be linked to a fatal accident. The National Highway Safety Administration (NHTSA) said in documents that it opened the probe on Thursday after the company reported four crashes, including one that killed a pedestrian, after Tesla vehicles entered areas of low visibility including sun glare, fog and airborne dust. In addition to the pedestrian's death, another crash involved an injury, the agency said. Investigators will look into the ability of Tesla's Full Self-Driving technology to "detect and respond appropriately to reduced roadway visibility conditions, and if so, the contributing circumstances for these crashes," NHTSA said.. The investigation covers roughly 2.4 million Teslas from the 2016 through 2024 model years. A message was left early Friday seeking comment from Tesla, which has repeatedly said the system cannot drive itself and human drivers must be ready to intervene at all times. The agency also said it would look into whether any other similar crashes involving "Full Self-Driving" have happened in low visibility conditions, and it will seek information from the company on whether any updates affected the system's performance in those conditions. "In particular, his review will assess the timing, purpose and capabilities of any such updates, as well as Telsa's assessment of their safety impact," the documents said. Last week Tesla held an event at a Hollywood studio to unveil a fully autonomous robotaxi without a steering wheel or pedals. CEO Elon Musk said the company plans to have fully autonomous vehicles running without human drivers next year, and robotaxis available in 2026. "We'll move from supervised Full Self-Driving to unsupervised Full Self-Driving, where you can fall asleep and wake up at your destination," Musk said during the October 11 event. "It's going to be a glorious future." The company also expects to make the Full Self-Driving technology available on its popular Model 3 and Model Y vehicles in Texas and California next year. The unveiling of the Cybercab comes as Musk tries to persuade investors that his company is more about artificial intelligence and robotics as it struggles to sell its core products, an aging lineup of electric vehicles. The splashy launch comes as Tesla struggles to drive sales and as Musk seeks to focus investor attention on the company's robotics technology, including a humanoid robot dubbed Optimus. Tesla said earlier this month that it had deliver nearly 463,000 vehicles in the third quarter, up slightly from about 435,000 cars in the year-ago period. Although Tesla remains the biggest U.S. manufacturer of electric vehicles, but faces mounting competition in its key markets around the globe, including Europe and China.

Tesla FSD under investigation again after fatal crash

Tesla is facing yet another government investigation into the safety of its full self driving (FSD) software after a series of accidents in low-visibility conditions. In its latest opening resume [PDF] into a Tesla FSD investigation, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said that it's taking a look at Tesla self-driving systems due to four accidents, one involving an injury and another fatally striking a pedestrian. All four accidents occurred in "an area of reduced roadway visibility conditions" with FSD, either beta or supervised, engaged. "In these crashes, the reduced roadway visibility arose from conditions such as sun glare, fog, or airborne dust," the NHTSA noted, adding that it was opening the inquiry to assess "the ability of FSD's engineering controls to detect and respond appropriately to reduced roadway visibility conditions." In addition, the NHTSA will examine if any further accidents, aside from the four mentioned, are linked to FSD's poor performance in low-visibility conditions. The agency will also review whether Tesla implemented any changes to FSD that could have worsened its ability to handle such scenarios. The investigation includes all 2016-2024 Model S and X vehicles, 2017-2024 Model 3, 2020-2024 Model Y and 2023-2024 Cybertrucks outfitted with FSD, covering around 2.4 million vehicles. Tesla owner Elon Musk has had a long-standing opposition to the use of things like ultrasonic sensors, radar and lidar in his quest to achieve unassisted full self driving, instead preferring AI and cameras to do the job. The EV maker has since committed entirely to computer vision, eliminating additional sensors in its latest model year vehicles. That means that aside from being able to see in the dark like most modern cameras, Tesla vehicles are ostensibly just as good at seeing in fog, sun glare or excess airborne dust as a human driver, with the added caveat that it's an AI making the decision, not a human. Plenty of other self-driving companies and their engineers have disagreed with Tesla over its vision-only approach, and this may be the first time we've seen its FSD formally evaluated to see whether it can actually drive better in low-visibility environments than a human. We've asked the NHTSA if it's worried about the lack of sensors being behind this Tesla investigation, but the agency declined to comment citing the ongoing nature of the case. Automotive safety experts The Register spoke with for this story noted that Tesla's reliance on computer vision, especially via low-resolution RGB cameras, could be a contributing factor in the accidents. The type of cameras Tesla uses are vulnerable to blinding in dusk, dawn, in fog and rain and when driving into the sun because of their low dynamic range, we're told. Relying solely on cameras could be also an issue because they are passive receivers of light, meaning they're unable to predict distance unless set up in stereo, which Tesla cameras reportedly are not. Not that Tesla hasn't had to patch FSD several times over the years to address other safety issues, including twice last year alone. Tesla patched FSD in January 2023 to address reports from the NHTSA that it was acting unsafe around intersections, and again in December because the attention controls were "insufficient to prevent misuse" of the system by drivers paying less attention than they should. In both cases, the NHTSA's investigation included fewer vehicles than the latest one, suggesting an even greater need to fix the issue if it doesn't play out in Tesla's favor. We've reached out to Tesla for comment, but didn't hear back. ®