A 2019 Tesla Model 3 crashed into a Florida Highway Patrol car in Orlando on the morning of August 28, 2021. No injuries were reported.
Courtesy: Florida Highway Patrol
The National Traffic and Road Safety Administration has added a 12th accident to the scope of its investigation into Tesla’s autopilot system and is demanding that the company provide a comprehensive amount of data on its systems. of driver assistance on 22 October.
The autopilot is Tesla’s driver assistance system that includes all its latest models as standard. Tesla also sells a more advanced version with the “Full Self Driving” brand, for $ 10,000, or to subscribers for $ 199 a month in the US. Its autopilot and FSD offerings do not make Tesla vehicles safe for operation without a driver behind the wheel – – systems can control some aspects of the car, but “active driver supervision” is required, according to the site Tesla website.
As previously reported by CNBC, the NHTSA’s fault investigation office launched a safety probe in August after the agency determined that the autopilot was used before collisions between vehicles Tesla electric and first response vehicles. These previous crashes were responsible for 17 injuries and one fatality.
A more recent accident in Orlando, Florida, which involved a Tesla Model 3 and a police car, is now part of the investigation. The Tesla driver in that incident nearly lost a soldier and told officers he was using the car’s autopilot feature at the time of the collision.
NHTSA’s letter to Tesla also sets a deadline for October 22, 2021, when the company must provide extensive data related to autopilot and vehicles to the federal auto safety agency.
NHTSA has the power to order withdrawals if it determines that a vehicle or any part of it is defective, including software-defined systems such as autopilot.
In the letter, addressed to Tesla Field Quality Director Eddie Gates, NHTSA provides a detailed list of the information it must evaluate to determine whether Tesla autopilot and traffic-conscious cruise control caused or were contribute to collisions with first responder vehicles.
The National Transportation Safety Board, another federal safety watchdog, has called on the NHTSA to impose stricter rules on the vehicle’s auto technology, including the Tesla autopilot.
Tesla did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Read the full NHTSA letter to Tesla here.