Washington, U.S.

Following four incidents including a deadly accident last year, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has opened an investigation into 2.4 million Tesla vehicles equipped with the automaker's Full Self Driving (FSD) software. If the NHTSA determines that the vehicles pose an unreasonable safety risk, it could result in a recall and this preliminary evaluation is an important step.

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That scrutiny is coming at a time when Tesla CEO Elon Musk has turned his company's focus to self driving technology and robotaxis, while facing greater competition and waning demand for its core automotive business. Musk announced the "Cybercab," a two seater robotaxi concept devoid of steering wheels and pedals, dependent on cameras and artificial intelligence for navigation, at the Robotaxi Summit last month. But such a vehicle would not have human controls, and would thus need NHTSA approval for deployment.

It began when crash reports came in of crashes where FSD took over while the visibility was severely reduced: the sun glare or fog. In Rimrock, Arizona, in November 2023, a 2021 Tesla Model Y ran over a pedestrian. One crash included reported injuries, and another one (reviewed) also involved injuries.

Model S and X cars from 2016 through 2024, Model 3 (2017 through 2024), Model Y (2020 through 2024), and 2023 through 2024 Cybertrucks with FSD enabled are covered by the probe. The investigation has not been commented on by Tesla, but the company's stock rose slightly, 0.1 percent, in early trading.

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In a tweet on Tuesday, Tesla released a statement saying its FSD software relies on active driver supervision and does not make vehicles fully autonomous. FSD aims to evaluate FSD’s engineering controls and attempt to assess their capability in detecting and responding to particular challenging roadway visibility conditions.

It is also investigating whether FSD-related accidents of a similar nature have taken place and whether Tesla has issued updates that may affect the way in such low visibility conditions. With regard to the timing and safety considerations for any modifications to the FSD, this review will assess them.

Tesla's FSD technology has been in development for years, with the goal of achieving high levels of automation. However, experts have raised concerns about the "camera-only" approach used by Tesla, suggesting it may struggle in adverse weather conditions compared to competitors utilising additional sensor technologies like lidar and radar.