U.S. expands probe into Tesla Autopilot, involving 830,000 vehicles

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has expanded its investigation into Tesla's Autopilot, revealing that it has reviewed nearly 200 vehicle accidents involving the use of Autopilot,media reported.

On June 9, NHTSA announced that it was necessary to further review its initial assessment of the scene of a collision between Tesla Autopilot and an emergency vehicle, and expanded its investigation.Since launching its investigation nearly 10 months ago, NHTSA has reviewed a wider range of crashes, not just those involving Teslas hitting fire trucks and police cars.

NHTSA has reviewed 191 incidents involving Tesla vehicles using some version of Autopilot.In about 50 crashes, NHTSA found that drivers were under-responsive to driving tasks.In about 20 other crashes, the main cause appears to have been drivers using the system in environments and conditions where the technology is limited, such as off highways or in bad weather, the agency said.

The risk to Tesla isn't just that NHTSA could end up finding that Autopilot is indeed flawed.NHTSA has the power to order the recall, and its investigation could prompt Musk to propose better safeguards to prevent drivers from being distracted or limit the use of Autopilot in situations it can't handle safely.

Image credit: Tesla

NHTSA said in a document posted on its website that its current investigation is expected to involve 830,000 vehicles from 2014 to 2022, about 65,000 more than when it began evaluating potential defects in August last year.

In the filing, NHTSA said it would "explore the extent to which Autopilot and the associated Tesla Autopilot system may undermine the effectiveness of driver supervision, thereby exacerbating human factors or behavioral safety risks." The agency also dismissed drivers Misuse of Autopilot may make it impossible to make claims of defect determinations.The NHTSA said, "The relevant behavior of the driver is predictable if viewed from the design or operation of the system."

For years, Tesla has marketed certain driver assistance features as Full Self-Driving, charging customers thousands of dollars to beta-test the technology.In its statement that day, NHTSA reiterated that "there are currently no fully autonomous vehicles on the market."

"NHTSA appears to be getting closer to taking tough action against Tesla, hoping to stop the company from continuing to scrutinize its vehicles," Michael Brooks, acting executive director and principal advisor to the Center for Auto Safety, said in an email. performance to mislead the public.”

Tesla did not respond to NHTSA's request for comment on the expanded investigation.Tesla shares closed down 0.9% on June 9, erasing earlier gains.The company's shares have fallen 32% this year.