US safety officials opened a preliminary investigation into Tesla Inc’s Autopilot after identifying 11 crashes involving the driver assistance system, officials said on Monday.
The incidents dating back to 2018 included one fatal crash and seven that resulted in injuries to 17 people, the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said.
The agency “is committed to ensuring the highest standards of safety on the nation’s roadways” and to “better understand the causes of certain Tesla crashes, NHTSA is opening a preliminary evaluation into Tesla Autopilot systems,” a spokesperson said.
Photo: AFP
Tesla founder Elon Musk has defended the Autopilot system and the electric automaker warns that it requires “active driver supervision” behind the wheel.
However, critics, including in the US Congress, say that the system can be easily fooled and that its name gives drivers a false sense of confidence.
In April, US senators Richard Blumenthal and Ed Markey urged the NHTSA to probe a fatal crash in Texas involving a Tesla after law enforcement said there was no driver behind the wheel.
Tesla did not respond to a request for comment.
The company’s shares dropped 4.3 percent to close at US$686.17.
The crashes cited by the NHTSA involved incidents in which “various Tesla models crashed” in instances where first responders were involved, including “some that crashed directly into the vehicles of first responders,” the NHTSA spokesperson said.
Three of the crashes were in California, while others happened in Florida, Texas, Massachusetts and other states.
The probe covers models S, 3, X and Y, the agency said.
“NHTSA reminds the public that no commercially available motor vehicles today are capable of driving themselves,” the spokesperson said. “Certain advanced driving assistance features can promote safety by helping drivers avoid crashes and mitigate the severity of crashes that occur, but as with all technologies and equipment on motor vehicles, drivers must use them correctly and responsibly.”
In June, Tesla recalled more than 285,000 vehicles in China due to problems with the cruise control system that authorities there said could lead to collisions.
However, analysts said that such a recall could involve a software update rather than a more hardware change that requires costly equipment upgrades.
The Center for Auto Safety, a non-profit group, has pressed US officials since 2018 to bar the name “Autopilot,” viewing the moniker as deceptive.
Center executive director Jason Levine in an e-mail to reporters welcomed news of the NHTSA probe, but said it should go “far beyond” crashes involving first responder vehicles, “because the danger is to all drivers, passengers and pedestrians when Autopilot is engaged.”
“Whether Autopilot needs to be disabled, or be required to use driver monitoring systems to prevent these crashes, is a question for NHTSA, but there’s no question that something needs to be done quickly to prevent more injuries and deaths,” Levine said.
Morningstar analyst Seth Goldstein said that the most likely outcome of the probe would be a requirement for a software update and additional warnings about the limits of Autopilot.
“We think the incidents highlight the need for Tesla to continue to improve its autonomous software before the company is likely to see a large revenue increase from its subscription-based full self-driving software,” Goldstein said in a note.
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