The top US auto safety regulator has opened a new investigation into Tesla’s “fully autonomous (supervised) driving” software after four reported crashes in low-visibility situations, including one in which a pedestrian was killed.
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) announced On Friday it is testing the driver assistance system to determine whether it can “detect and respond appropriately to reduced visibility conditions on the road” such as “sun glare, fog or airborne dust.” The agency also wants to know if other accidents have occurred in these conditions in addition to those reported.
The investigation comes just a week after Tesla CEO Elon Musk revealed the prototype of his company’s “CyberCab,” a two-seater car that he said is supposed to serve as a robotaxi, after years of broken promises. Musk also claimed at the event that Tesla’s Model 3 sedan and Model Y SUV could operate unattended in California and Texas sometime in 2025, though he did not offer any details on how that will happen.
In April, NHTSA closed a nearly three-year investigation into Autopilot, the least capable driver-assist software Tesla offers, after investigating nearly 500 crashes in which the system was active. The agency found that 13 of those crashes were fatal. At the same time it closed that investigation, NHTSA opened a new investigation into the recall Tesla had issued to fix issues with Autopilot.
Tesla’s software also faces other legal threats. The Department of Justice is investigating claims Tesla has made about its driver-assist features, and the California Department of Motor Vehicles has accused Tesla of inflating the software’s capabilities.