The interior of a Tesla Model S is shown in autopilot mode in San Francisco, California, USA, on April 7, 2016.
Alexandria Sage | Reuters
As part of its investigation into Tesla autopilot safety issues, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration on Monday asked 12 other major automakers for data on their driver assistance systems.
The agency plans a comparative analysis between the systems offered by Tesla and its competitors, as well as the practices they each used to develop, test, and track the safety of their driver assistance packages. If the NHTSA determines that any vehicle (or component or system) has a design defect or safety defect, the agency has the power to order withdrawals.
According to public records, the NHTSA Defect Investigation Office has now consulted BMW, Ford, GM, Honda, Hyundai, Kia, Mercedes-Benz, Nissan, Stellantis, Subaru, Toyota and Volkswagen as part of its probe Tesla autopilot.
Some of these brands are Tesla’s main competitors with popular models in the growing electric battery segment of the car market, especially Kia and Volkswagen in Europe.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk has consistently promoted autopilot as a technology that makes his company’s electric cars much less likely to be involved in an accident than others.
In April, he wrote on Twitter: “Tesla with the autopilot is now committed by approaching ten times the chances of an accident than the average vehicle.”
Now, feds will compare all of Tesla’s autopilot approach and design with the practices of other car systems and driver assistance systems.
NHTSA possible recovery software for Tesla autopilot if NHTSA finds system defects.
The results of this research could lead not only to a software recovery for the Tesla autopilot, but also to a broader regulatory crackdown on car manufacturers and how they should develop and track the use of automated driving functions such as traffic-conscious cruise control or collision avoidance. .
As previously reported by CNBC, NHTSA originally began its investigation into the Tesla autopilot after a series of accidents between Tesla vehicles and first aid vehicles left 17 injured and 1 dead. Recently, he added another collision to the list involving a Tesla that veered off the road in Orlando and nearly lost a police officer assisting another motorcyclist on the side of the road.