The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said on Thursday it was upgrading its preliminary investigation, which began last August, to a “mechanical analysis” before the service decides to withdraw. The survey covers all four Tesla vehicles – Models Y, X, S and 3 – representing approximately 830,000 vehicles sold in the US. The research focuses on Tesla’s Autopilot function, which is supposed to help drivers navigate the streets through artificial intelligence, which detects other vehicles. The company instructs drivers to watch the road and keep their hands on the steering wheel while using the autopilot, although some drivers have used the autopilot drunk or sitting in the back seat of the car. The 16 accidents at the base of the investigation occurred between January 2018 and January 2022 and resulted in 15 injuries and one death. In documents posted on its website, NHTSA said forensic evidence showed that most drivers had their hands on the steering wheel before the collision and complied with the system as designed for use. The agency said this as the investigation specifically examines whether the Pilot function ultimately undermines “the effectiveness of driver oversight”. NHTSA, in a separate study, is looking at a separate batch of complaints filed against Tesla vehicles that suddenly brake at high speeds, otherwise known as “imaginary braking”. The service has received more than 750 complaints about the problem, although no accidents or injuries have been reported. The agency asked Tesla for more information on its awareness of the issue. The agency has been struggling for years with Tesla, and in particular the honest founder of the company, Elon Musk. Anonymous officials and former regulators told the Washington Post earlier this year that Musk’s agency had received strong reactions from regulators, noting that regulators needed to learn to deal with a militant company. In a letter to Musk last fall, Jennifer Homendy, chairwoman of the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) – a separate federal agency that investigates accidents and makes recommendations to other services such as the NHTSA – urged Musk to respond to his recommendations for autopilot safety issued by Tesla in 2017. The NTSB has advised Tesla to develop safeguards that will prevent drivers from using vehicles in ways that are inconsistent with its design. “If you are serious about putting safety in front of and at the center of Tesla vehicle design, I invite you to take action on the safety recommendations we issued four years ago,” Homendy wrote in a letter to Musk.
