Tesla’s Full Self-Driving System Under Investigation for Safety Concerns

Tesla’s Full Self-Driving system is currently facing an expanded investigation by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) regarding its safety under poor road visibility conditions. This investigation comes after reports by Reuters highlighted concerns about the system’s performance. Vehicles equipped with Tesla’s Full Self-Driving (FSD) feature are equipped with a “degradation detection” system that is designed to alert drivers to take control when the vehicle’s cameras are unable to clearly see the road, particularly in adverse weather conditions.

The NHTSA’s Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) has initiated an engineering analysis, which is the final phase of the investigation process before a potential recall decision is made. The focus of this analysis is to determine whether the degradation detection system functions as intended, especially in light of several safety incidents that have raised concerns.

A recent NHTSA filing from March 18th revealed that the degradation detection system has been found lacking in detecting and warning drivers appropriately under conditions of reduced visibility, such as glare and airborne obstructions. The system reportedly failed to identify common road conditions that impaired camera visibility and did not provide alerts until just before a crash occurred in the incidents reviewed by the ODI.

After a fatal incident in 2023, Tesla began working on an update for the degradation detection system in 2024. However, the NHTSA filing on Wednesday indicated that the ODI is uncertain about which vehicles have received this update. Despite this, there is speculation that the update could have potentially prevented some of the safety incidents currently under investigation by the ODI.