- The NHTSA has opened an investigation into the performance of Tesla’s Full-Self Driving technology in reduced visibility conditions.
- The government is aware of at least four different crashes including one where a pedestrian was killed.
- Investigators will be looking at the system’s ability to “detect and respond appropriately to reduced roadway visibility conditions.”
Tesla might as well be an alien abductee at this point, having been probed six ways from Sunday. And today is no different, as the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has launched yet another investigation—this time into collisions involving Tesla’s full-self driving (FSD) system during “reduced roadway visibility conditions.”
According to government reports, officials have flagged four separate incidents where a Tesla was involved in a crash after entering an area with reduced roadway visibility while FSD was engaged. The exact circumstances vary, but visibility was impacted by dust, fog, or glare from the sun.
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Sadly, the investigation comes in the wake of serious consequences. One of these crashes tragically resulted in a pedestrian fatality, while another led to injuries.
Given the seriousness of the issue, the Office of Defects Investigation has opened a preliminary evaluation of Tesla’s Full-Self Driving technology. It aims to assess the system’s ability to “detect and respond appropriately to reduced roadway visibility conditions” as well as updates or modifications from Tesla.
This is no small probe either—over 2.4 million Teslas are potentially under scrutiny, spanning from the 2016-2024 Model S and Model X, the 2017-2024 Model 3, the 2020-2024 Model Y, and even the brand-new 2023-2024 Cybertruck. However, it’s important to note this isn’t a recall as the government is simply looking into a possible “failure of … system engineering controls to react appropriately to reduced roadway visibility conditions.”
While the investigation will take time to complete, FSD is not fully autonomous despite its name. In fact, Tesla appears to have slapped “(Supervised)” onto the end of the moniker within the past few months.
Tesla says with Full Self-Driving (Supervised), “Your vehicle will be able to drive itself almost anywhere with minimal driver intervention.” However, the company goes onto note the system requires “active driver supervision” and the technology does “not make the vehicle autonomous.”