By David Shepardson
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration raised concerns about Tesla social media posts that suggested its Full Self-Driving software can be used as a robotaxi and does not need driver attention.
NHTSA in October opened an investigation into 2.4 million Tesla vehicles with FSD software after four reported collisions, including a 2023 fatal crash, during conditions including sun glare, fog, and airborne dust.
In a May 14 email made public on Friday, NHTSA told Tesla its social media postings could encourage people to see FSD as a robotaxi “rather than a partial automation/driver assist system that requires persistent attention and intermittent intervention by the driver.”
NHTSA cited Tesla postings on X including reposting the story of an individual who opted to use FSD to drive him 13 miles (21 km) from his home to the emergency room during a heart attack, along with another depicting a 50-minute drive home using FSD from a sporting event.
“We believe that Tesla’s postings conflict with
its stated messaging that the driver is to maintain continued control over the dynamic driving task,” NHTSA wrote, asking Tesla to revisit its communications.
Tesla, which met with the agency in May about the social media posts, told NHTSA that its owner’s manual and in other places tells drivers that the vehicle is not autonomous and that they must remain vigilant.
Tesla did not immediately comment on Friday. Elon Musk is CEO of Tesla and owns X, the social media site formerly known as Twitter.
NHTSA on Friday released a letter dated Monday to Tesla seeking answers to questions in its investigation by Dec. 18, including the driver assistance system’s “potential failure to perform, including detecting and responding appropriately in specific situations where there is reduced roadway visibility that may limit FSD’s ability to safely operate.”
NHTSA added that its “investigation will consider the adequacy of feedback or information the system provides to drivers to enable them to make a decision in real time when the capability of the system has been exceeded.”
A 71-year-old woman who exited a vehicle following a rear-end collision with two other vehicles was killed in Rimrock, Arizona when she was struck by a Tesla in FSD mode with a driver battling sun glare who was not charged.
In December 2023, Tesla agreed to recall over 2 million vehicles in the U.S. to install new safeguards in its Autopilot advanced driver-assistance system under pressure from NHTSA, which is still considering the adequacy of the safeguards.
(Reporting by David Shepardson; editing by Diane Craft and Bill Berkrot)
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