Tesla’s Full Self-Driving software under investigation by federal safety regulator

The US’s top auto safety regulator has opened a new investigation into Tesla’s “Full Self-Driving (Supervised)” software after four accidents were reported in unclear circumstances – including one in which a pedestrian was killed.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s (NHTSA) Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) announced Friday that it is investigating the driver assistance system to determine whether it can “detect and respond appropriately to conditions of reduced road visibility,” such as “bright sunlight, fog, or airborne dust.” ” This organization also wants to know if other accidents have occurred in these situations beyond those reported.

The investigation comes a week after Tesla CEO Elon Musk unveiled a prototype of his company’s “CyberCab,” a two-seater vehicle he said should function like a robot, following years of unfulfilled promises. Musk also said at the event that Tesla’s Model 3 sedan and Model Y SUV will be able to operate unattended in California and Texas sometime in 2025, although he did not provide details on how that would happen.

In April, the NHTSA closed a nearly three-year investigation into Autopilot, the low-powered driver assistance software offered by Tesla, after investigating nearly 500 crashes in which the system was active. The center found that 13 of those accidents resulted in deaths. At the same time it closed that investigation, NHTSA opened a new investigation into the recall fixes Tesla had issued to fix problems with Autopilot.

Tesla’s software also faces other legal threats. The Justice Department is investigating claims Tesla has made about its driver assistance features, and the California Department of Motor Vehicles has accused Tesla of exaggerating the software’s capabilities.