Tesla Drifts Closer to Possible Recall as US Regulators Upgrade Autopilot Probe

For nearly a year, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has been investigating whether there is a fatal safety defect with Autopilot, Tesla’s advanced driver-assistance technology used to assist drivers in an array of tasks, including steering and maintaining safe distances between vehicles.

Hundreds of thousands of Teslas equipped with partially automated driving systems could be facing federal recall, unless the Texas-based automotive company is able to convince federal regulators that Autopilot is not mainly responsible for several crashes involving Tesla vehicles and parked emergency first-responder vehicles.

The NHTSA announced in a Thursday release that the Tesla Autopilot probe launched in August has been expanded to an ‘Engineering Analysis’ in the wake of newly-identified incidences of Tesla-involved crashes with emergency response vehicles.

The ‘Engineering Analysis’ is the final stage of the probe. The NHTSA traditionally takes less than a year to announce its decision on whether a recall should occur.

In the next critical step, federal regulators are expected to expand their “existing crash analysis, evaluate additional data sets, perform vehicle evaluations, and … explore the degree to which Autopilot and associated Tesla systems may exacerbate human factors or behavioral safety risks by undermining the effectiveness of the driver’s supervision.”

The memo highlighted that a motorist’s use, or misuse, of the system “or operation of a vehicle in an unintended manner does not necessarily preclude a system defect.”

The agency’s probe has reviewed a total of 191 crashes involving Tesla cars equipped with Autopilot and removed 85 crashes due to “external factors” that impeded a definitive assessment.

Of the 106 crashes examined, around one-quarter of them appeared to be in areas where Autopilot has identifiable limitations, according to the agency.

“For example, operation on roadways other than limited access highways, or operation in low traction or visibility environments such as rain, snow or ice,” the NHTSA wrote.

In this Sunday, July 21, 2019 file photo shows the scene after a woman was arrested after running a red light in a rented Tesla in San Francisco and causing a crash that killed a tourist and left his wife critically injured. San Francisco police said Wednesday, July 24, 2019, preliminary information shows a rented Tesla that was speeding when it ran a red light and struck a couple was not on semi-autonomous Autopilot mode.

© AP Photo / Kate Larsen/KGO-TV

There have been at least 16 instances in which a Tesla using Autopilot crashed into an emergency vehicle displaying warning signs, including flashing lights, flare, illuminated arrow board, and traffic cones, the federal agency detailed.

The NHTSA is examining 14 crashes that led to one fatality and 15 injuries, as well as two additional incidents that were reported by Tesla. According to the agency, the Texas-based company appears to be dropping the ball regarding ensuring drivers are attentive.

At least 830,000 Tesla vehicles built since 2014 could be potentially affected by federal action.

Tesla notably updated its Autopilot software last year in an effort to boost the system’s ability to detect emergency lights in low-light conditions. Although the update was released online, the NHTSA has probed why the automotive company did not issue a voluntary recall.