Automated Anxiety: US Records Over 750 Complaints of Teslas Abruptly Braking for No Apparent Reason

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has formally launched four investigations into Tesla within the past three years, prompting necessary questions about the limitations and risks associated with the Texas-based company’s automated systems.

US safety regulators have received complaints from more than 750 Tesla owners who complained that the automaker’s partially automated driving systems have randomly stopped functioning for no apparent reason.

“Complainants report that the rapid deceleration can occur without warning, and often repeatedly during a single drive cycle,” the agency wrote.

In a letter addressed to Tesla, the NHTSA asks the automaker to provide reports it has received about false braking events, as well as any associated injuries, crashes, deaths, or property damage.

Officials will examine the initial speed of when the cars began to brake, the final speed, and the average deceleration.

Federal regulators are also seeking footage of braking incidents, as well as information on whether the automated systems detected a target obstacle.

Tesla has been given a response deadline of June 20.

Shares of Tesla Inc. fell more than 9% on Friday as CEO Elon Musk announced that he had a “super bad feeling” about the economy and would need to cut 10% of jobs with the automaker.

Musk, a vocal proponent for returning to the workplace, has recently been taken to task by critics after he told workers they “should pretend to work somewhere else” if they believe coming into work is an “antiquated concept.”