US regulators intensified scrutiny of Tesla's autopilot after nine crashes

New Requirements for Tesla Driver Assistance System

The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has intensified its investigation into the “degradation detection” system on Tesla electric vehicles. The agency decided to examine how effectively this feature identifies adverse road conditions—after analyzing nine incidents involving the technology, including one fatality.

What is NHTSA examining?
- Scope of the investigation: about 3.2 million Teslas, nearly all cars sold in the U.S.
- Purpose: assess the system’s ability to warn drivers about reduced visibility and the need for intervention.
- Potential consequences: if a defect is found, NHTSA can require vehicle recalls or impose other enforcement actions.

Why regulators are closely monitoring FSD
Tesla plans to launch vehicles with full self‑driving capabilities based on its Full Self‑Driving (FSD) platform. The “degradation detection” system is a key component of this program and is under intense regulatory scrutiny.

What NHTSA data revealed
- Ineffectiveness: both the original version and subsequent software updates failed to timely detect visibility loss or warn drivers about glare and other hazards.
- Incidents: nine events linked to the issue; two resulted in injuries.
- Update impact: in three cases, new software installations may have worsened the situation.
- System behavior: in most crashes, the system either did not activate or issued warnings too late.

Additional findings
Beyond the nine reported incidents, additional accidents under similar conditions were identified where the system failed to detect visibility degradation or gave drivers insufficient reaction time.

Thus, NHTSA continues to analyze Tesla’s driver assistance system and is prepared to take action if defects are confirmed.