The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) in the United States has recently concluded a large-scale investigation into Tesla’s Autopilot driver assistance system, which was initiated in 2021. The investigation, which involved the analysis of hundreds of accidents, including 13 fatal crashes and many others resulting in serious injuries, was prompted by concerns over the improper use of the system.
Concurrent with the closure of the investigation, NHTSA has launched a new evaluation to assess the effectiveness of measures implemented in December following a recall of 2 million vehicles. This decision came after the agency identified a discrepancy between drivers’ expectations of Autopilot and the actual capabilities of the system, leading to misuse and avoidable accidents.
Documents revealed that NHTSA conducted extensive research, indicating that Tesla’s driver engagement monitoring system was insufficient for the capabilities of Autopilot. In their analysis of 956 accident reports, approximately half of the cases were deemed inconclusive due to inadequate data or lack of Autopilot use, with the remaining 467 cases classified into three main categories.
- 211 cases involved Tesla colliding with another vehicle or obstacle despite the driver having time to react
- 145 cases involved road edge incidents, such as on wet surfaces
- 111 cases saw the Autosteer system being unintentionally disengaged by the driver
NHTSA, along with other safety authorities, raised concerns over the effectiveness of Tesla’s warnings and control systems in preventing misuse of Autopilot. Despite a software update in December aimed at enhancing driver monitoring, tangible improvements in Autopilot’s functionality were not observed.
Furthermore, the implementation of certain features post-recall requires owner consent, allowing drivers to easily override some safety measures introduced by Tesla. This has sparked questions regarding the efficacy of such measures in ensuring the safe use of the Autopilot system.