NHTSA Escalates Tesla Full Self-Driving Probe to Engineering Analysis

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has escalated its investigation into Tesla's Full Self-Driving system, upgrading the probe to an engineering analysis that covers approximately 3.2 million vehicles across nearly all models sold in the United States. The announcement, made on Thursday, focuses on the system's ability to detect degraded visibility conditions and warn drivers to intervene, following the review of multiple crashes linked to the technology.

The probe, initially opened in October 2024, stems from concerns over the Full Self-Driving software's performance in low-visibility environments such as glare, fog, or airborne particles. Regulators have identified nine crashes associated with these issues, including one fatal incident involving a pedestrian and two others that resulted in injuries. In the crashes examined by the agency's Office of Defects Investigation, the system failed to recognize common road conditions that impaired camera visibility or provide timely alerts to drivers. Warnings, when issued, often occurred only moments before impact, leaving insufficient time for response. Additional incidents in similar conditions were uncovered during...