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The top US auto safety regulator has opened a new investigation into Tesla’s so-called “Full Self-Driving (Supervision)” program after four crashes were reported in low-visibility situations – including one in which a pedestrian was killed.
Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) Announce Friday it is investigating the driver-assistance system to see if it can “detect and respond appropriately to low-visibility conditions on the road,” such as “sun glare, fog or airborne dust.” The agency also wants to know if other incidents have occurred in these conditions other than those reported.
The investigation comes just one week after Tesla CEO Elon Musk unveiled the prototype of his company’s CyberCab, a two-seat car that he said was meant to serve as a robotaxi, after years of unfulfilled promises. . Musk also claimed at the event that the Tesla Model 3 sedan and Model Y SUV will be able to operate unsupervised in California and Texas sometime in 2025, though he did not provide any details on how that would happen.
In April, NHTSA closed a nearly three-year investigation into Autopilot, Tesla’s less-capable driver-assistance program, after investigating nearly 500 crashes where the system was active. The agency found that 13 of those accidents were fatal. At the same time it closed that investigation, NHTSA opened a new investigation into a recall fix Tesla issued to address Autopilot issues.
Tesla’s software also faces other legal threats. The Department of Justice is investigating claims made by Tesla about its driver-assistance features, and the California Department of Motor Vehicles has accused Tesla of inflating the software’s capabilities.
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