Tesla autopilot overview:ย
- Who: Tesla is being investigated by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.ย
- Why: Tesla reportedly has a feature referred to as โElon Modeโ that allows drivers to disable warnings related to autopilot that NHTSA is investigating over safety concerns.
- Where: NHTSA released the Tesla autopilot letter from its Washington, D.C., office.
Tesla is being investigated by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration related to the availability of a function referred to as โElon Modeโ where drivers can disable safety alerts related to the autopilot feature on the vehicles.
The Tesla Full Self-Driving Mode comes with required alerts to keep a driverโs attention despite using the autopilot function.
The NHTSA sent a July 26 letter that it recently released requiring Tesla to respond by Aug. 25 with all information related to the alleged Tesla autopilot safety feature override. If Tesla did not respond accurately and in full by that date, the company is subject to a fine of $26,315 per day.
โNHTSA is concerned that this feature was introduced to consumer vehicles and, now that the existence of this feature is known to the public, more drivers may attempt to activate it,โ the NHTSA letter says. โThe resulting relaxation of controls designed to ensure that the driver remain engaged in the dynamic driving task could lead to greater driver inattention and failure of the driver to properly supervise autopilot.โ
Full documentation of the Tesla Autopilot โElon Modeโ was required with criminal penalties possible for withholding or falsifying information
The main Tesla Full Self-Driving Mode prompt mentioned in the letter and accompanying special order is a prompt for drivers to apply torque to the steering wheel to ensure the driver is alert.
The Tesla autopilot NHTSA letter also says that falsifying records or withholding information can lead to additional fines and criminal penalties up to and including 15 years of imprisonment.
The special order requires Tesla to share all documents related to the Full Self-Driving Mode โElon Modeโ option and, if the documents are not self explanatory, the company was required to include a full explanation along with the documents.
Tesla is also facing a class action lawsuit in California federal court claiming the automaker grossly overestimates the mileage range of its electric vehicles in its advertising.
Have you ever used autopilot mode on a Tesla vehicle? Let us know in the comments.
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