Tesla Under Investigation for Autonomous Vehicles, Prepares to Sell Cars Without Steering Wheels or Pedals

Tesla Under Investigation for Autonomous Vehicles, Prepares to Sell Cars Without Steering Wheels or Pedals US federal regulators are intensifying their investigation into Tesla following multiple crashes involving its autonomous driving feature, specifically examining instances where the system failed to adequately alert drivers in poor conditions. This heightened scrutiny could lead to significant actions, including potential recalls of millions of vehicles. Concurrently, Tesla CEO Elon Musk is pushing forward with plans to introduce new vehicle models without steering wheels or foot pedals, and to expand its robotaxi service.

• US regulators have intensified their investigation into Tesla due to several crashes involving its autonomous driving feature.
• The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is examining nine accidents where the software reportedly failed to warn drivers to take control.
• The investigation could potentially lead to the recall of 3.2 million Tesla vehicles.
• Tesla’s stock fell 3.2% following the news.
• Elon Musk plans to launch a robotaxi service and a new Cybertruck model without steering wheels or pedals.
• Unlike other autonomous vehicles, Tesla’s rely solely on cameras, a method Musk favors over lidar.
• The NHTSA’s investigation will move to an ‘engineering analysis’ phase.
• Tesla’s ‘Full Self-Driving’ (FSD) software name has been criticized as misleading; it is now ‘Full Self-Driving (Supervised)’.
• Tesla faces other investigations regarding vehicles running red lights and malfunctioning door latches.