The federal government's top auto safety agency said Friday it was investigating Tesla's recall of its Autopilot driver-assist system because regulators were concerned the company had not done enough to ensure drivers remained attentive. while using technology.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said in documents posted on its website that it was investigating Tesla's December recall of two million vehicles, covering nearly all the cars the company had made in the United States since 2012. The safety agency said it had concerns about accidents that occurred after the recall and the results of preliminary testing of the recalled vehicles.
The agency also released an analysis that found there were at least 29 fatal crashes involving Autopilot and a more advanced system that Tesla calls Full Self-Driving from January 2018 to August 2023. In 13 of those fatal crashes, the fronts of the Teslas crashed. objects or people in your path.
The Tesla recall investigation and new crash data add to a list of headaches for Tesla, the dominant electric vehicle maker in the United States. The company's sales in the first three months of the year fell more than 8 percent from a year earlier, the first such drop since the early days of the coronavirus pandemic.
Tesla announced in December that it would retire its Autopilot software after an investigation by the auto safety agency found that the automaker had not implemented enough safety measures to ensure that the system, which can accelerate, brake and control cars from In other ways, it was used safely by drivers who were supposed to be ready at a moment's notice to regain control of their cars using Autopilot.
In its analysis of Tesla crash data, the safety agency found that when the company's cameras, sensors and software failed to detect obstacles in the car's path and drivers did not compensate for that failure quickly enough, the consequences were often catastrophic.
In one case, a child who had just gotten off a school bus in March 2023 in North Carolina was hit by a Tesla Model Y traveling at highway speeds. He had serious injuries. “Based on publicly available information, both the bus and the pedestrian would have been visible to an attentive driver and would have allowed him to avoid or minimize the severity of this accident,” the safety agency said.
It's unclear how often Tesla cars are involved in accidents while Autopilot and full self-driving are in use, the agency said, because the company is not aware of all accidents involving its cars. The safety agency added that Tesla was an outlier in the auto industry by discouraging drivers from using an Autopilot system that is not equipped for many situations.
Tesla faces several lawsuits from people who claim the system is defective and that its design contributed to or is responsible for serious injuries and deaths.
The December recall, which involves an over-the-air software update, includes more prominent visual alerts and controls when drivers use Autopilot to remind them to keep their hands on the wheel and pay attention to the road. The recall covers all five Tesla passenger models: 3, S, X, Y and Cybertruck.
Tesla did not respond to a request for comment.
The auto safety agency also said Friday that it disagreed with Tesla's decision to allow customers to opt out and allow them to undo the changes. Tesla also appeared to include other updates that addressed issues related to the recall that the company and the safety agency had not agreed to beforehand.
Tesla and its CEO Elon Musk have long bristled at criticism of Autopilot and full self-driving. They have argued that the systems, none of which allow the cars to drive themselves, make their cars safer and have blamed drivers for any crashes or problems.
The automaker has also been under scrutiny from safety regulators over other issues.
Last week, the auto safety agency said Tesla had agreed to recall nearly 4,000 Cybertruck pickup trucks. The agency said the way soap had been used as a lubricant during assembly of the truck could cause the accelerator pedal to stick. The automaker is not aware of any injuries or accidents related to that defect.
In February, Tesla recalled more than two million vehicles because the font size on the warning light panel was too small.
The company is fighting to maintain its dominance in the electric vehicle market as newer and more established automakers introduce new models around the world. Tesla's market share in the US electric vehicle market fell to 51 percent in the first quarter, down from 62 percent a year earlier.
Musk told employees this month that Tesla would cut more than 10 percent of its workforce. Two senior executives also announced they were leaving the company.
