Tesla is facing an investigation by federal safety regulators to determine whether it delayed notifying the government about accidents involving its driver-assist technology.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is investigating whether the company is complying with regulations requiring reporting of data on accidents involving its cars when they are using certain driver assistance features. In an official document released Wednesday, NHTSA stated that “the reported accidents occurred several months or more before the reporting dates. The majority of these reports involve accidents for which ... the required time to submit the report was within one to five days of receiving notification of the accident from Tesla.”
Many Tesla vehicles are equipped with Autopilot, a system designed to assist drivers on limited-access highways, and the so-called "Full Self Driving" function, which supposedly can drive the vehicle on both city roads and highways.
Both functions are intended to be used only when there is a person in the driver's seat who is attentive and can take control of the car at any time.
While NHTSA has several open investigations into Tesla and its self-driving efforts, this latest investigation is the first to be launched since President Donald Trump returned to office. It could also be seen as another blow to Tesla's bet that its self-driving technology will be essential to its future growth and profitability.
Investors had believed that the Trump administration would be supportive of Tesla CEO Elon Musk's ambitions for autonomous driving, perhaps ending existing safety investigations into the company. Musk had given hundreds of millions of dollars to Trump's campaign and served as a key adviser after his inauguration. However, relations between the two have soured since then.
NHTSA said Tesla has stated that it has fixed previous problems with collecting and reporting the required data. The agency said it plans to audit Tesla's data to find out if that is true.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced in April that his department would change reporting requirements as part of efforts to promote autonomous vehicles.
“We’ve heard from industry partners that accident reporting requirements for automated vehicles are very costly,” he said during a presentation on the autonomous vehicle program. “But these reports help the DOT (Department of Transportation) monitor road safety. So to balance those concerns, we’ve simplified the process.”
Tesla was found liable earlier this month for a fatal 2019 crash involving an Autopilot-equipped Model S that crashed into a parked car, killing a passenger. The company was ordered to pay $329 million in damages. Tesla has said it will appeal the decision.
CNN
