In a report published by the NHTSA, it was found that Tesla’s autopilot feature is flawed and has resulted in at least 467 collisions and 13 major crashes.
The company was also accused of making false claims about its vehicles’ safety.
A second probe has been launched to check the effectiveness of its autopilot software update that took place after the company recalled over 2 million vehicles last year.
On Friday (April 26), the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said that their investigation of Tesla’s autopilot feature revealed that it was involved in at least 467 collisions and 13 fatal crashes.
On top of that, they also found that Tesla’s claims about the feature do not match up with reality.
The investigation started in August 2021 and carried on for three years. During this period, not only did the NHTSA record the above-mentioned accidents but also 14 deaths. In several other cases, the drivers and passengers were seriously injured.
According to the report by NHTSA, Tesla’s design is flawed and has “led to foreseeable misuse and avoidable crashes.”
Explaining the issues with the car, the report said it has a weak driver engagement system which clashes with the autopilot feature’s permissive operating capabilities, causing a critical safety gap.
Furthermore, the name “autopilot” is misleading for some drivers. It may lead them to think the feature has greater auto-driving capabilities than it actually does.
What also doesn’t help Tesla is that it has made multiple claims without any evidence to back them up.
In 2021, Musk put out a post online claiming that Tesla with Autopilot engaged will have 10x lower chances of accidents than average vehicles.
However, there’s no evidence whatsoever for anyone to even come close to believing this claim.
Even worse, Elon Musk doesn’t allow third-party agencies to verify the company’s data.
These aren’t the only probes against Tesla. Since 2016, the NHTSA has launched over 40 separate investigations against the company over its autopilot feature—and has found it responsible for 23 crash deaths to date.
Fresh NHTSA Investigation into Tesla
Last December, Tesla recalled 2.03 million US vehicles (models Y, X, S, 3, and Cybertruck) – almost all of its cars that run on US roads. This was done to update the car’s driver monitoring system when running on autopilot.
Unfortunately for Tesla, this wasn’t a one-off. Just last week, Tesla recalled 3,878 Cybertrucks over concerns about unintentional acceleration.
So now, the NHTSA has opened a new investigation to check the effectiveness of Tesla’s software updates and remedial steps taken.
Although the agency is yet to arrive at an official conclusion regarding the update, it did hint in its first report that the recalls didn’t fix the issue because autopilot-linked crashes continue to happen.
Consumer Reports, a non-profit organization that evaluates products and services, also shared a similar report.
After the recall, Consumer Reports evaluated the changes and said that Tesla didn’t address the issues adequately. They also said that the update only fixed minor inconveniences and completely ignored the real problems.
What Does Tesla Have to Say About the Report?
Tesla has yet to issue an official response to NHTSA’s report, and it has also not replied to any requests for a comment. However, in the past, the company has made a few notable remarks on similar issues.
For example, just last week CEO Elon Musk exuded utmost confidence when he said this during Tesla’s earnings call:
‘If somebody doesn’t believe Tesla’s going to solve autonomy, I think they should not be an investor in the company.’ – Elon Musk
It’s also worth noting that the very negative NHTSA report comes just three months before Tesla plans to unveil its robotaxis.
Considering the robotaxi project will almost entirely depend on Tesla’s autopilot feature, it will be interesting to see how well it will perform—and whether it will be received well by the public.
People’s Reactions to NHTSA’s Report
Tesla and its auto-driving feature has been a controversial topic for many years. The company is dealing with quite a few lawsuits over allegations that its self-driving feature has resulted in fatal car crashes.
In fact, the company won its first-ever case in a similar lawsuit in November 2023. However, one small win does not do away with the mistrust built against its cars over the years.
The senators have jointly urged the NHTSA to take all the necessary steps to prevent Tesla vehicles from endangering people’s lives.
Philip Koopman, an automotive safety researcher and an associate professor of computer engineering at Carnegie Mellon University, offered a few suggestions. He said that Tesla should work on their system to improve driver attention.
The car should automatically shut down the autopilot mode if it enters a road not suitable for the feature. Moreover, the map data in the vehicle can be used to implement this feature. Lastly, he remarked that he hopes Tesla takes his recommendations seriously.
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