Tesla is facing an investigation by US authorities for several accidents involving the Autopilot. The manufacturer is also required to provide data relating to this feature to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration before October 22.
Tesla must explain himself to the American authorities. Indeed, many vehicles have been involved in accidents and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is particularly interested the management of the Autopilot, this flagship feature.
The organization asked the manufacturer to provide it with detailed data on the functioning of the Autopilot, and this before October 22. If Tesla does not cooperate, he could be fined $ 115 million. This request is fully part of the investigation that the NHTSA conducted since August.
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The organization’s request aims to know the safeguards concerning the application of Autopilot in real conditions, that is, how Tesla ensures that once this mode is activated, the driver keeps his eyes on the road and shows himself ready to react in case of a problem. It is true that once the Tesla is in automatic mode on the highway, it is tempting to relax its attention. The HHTSA also wants to know what are the limitations of using Autopilot. Thought to be activated on the highway, nothing prevents drivers from using it on smaller roads or in town.
Tesla must provide its Autopilot data
More so, Tesla must provide conclusions of previous accidents concerning Autopilot as well as the number of vehicles using it. Finally, customer complaints must also be included in the file.
Since Tesla’s arrival on the roads, many accidents have been recorded with the Autopilot activated. The death toll is six (five drivers and one pedestrian). In total, 12 cases are of particular interest to NHTSA. While this may seem like a drop in the bucket compared to the annual figures on American roads, authorities are taking these isolated cases very seriously. The Autopilot is indeed a foretaste of the future of the automobile. Questions like liability will have to be decided. Is it attributable to the driver who has not paid attention, to the manufacturer who offers faulty software or to a third party?
In any case, this investigation should last a while and it will be necessary to see whether Tesla agrees to cooperate or not on this sensitive subject for its image.