Key facts
- Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi urged the NHTSA to ensure adequate safeguards for Tesla's driver-assist systems.
- A report identified 43 videos showing drivers asleep or disengaged in moving Teslas.
- Tesla recalled 2 million vehicles in 2023 to enhance driver attention monitoring for Autopilot.
- NHTSA is probing 3.2 million Teslas with FSD over visibility detection concerns.
- NHTSA is also investigating 2.9 million Teslas with FSD for traffic safety violations and crashes.
Representative Raja Krishnamoorthi, an Illinois Democrat, has called on the U.S. auto safety agency to take action regarding the misuse of Tesla's Autopilot and Full Self-Driving (FSD) systems. Krishnamoorthi cited a report that identified 43 videos appearing to show drivers asleep or otherwise disengaged while operating moving Teslas, with 17 such videos recorded this year.
In a letter to U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, Krishnamoorthi stated that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) must ensure manufacturers have adequate safeguards to prevent foreseeable misuse and that drivers are not overly reliant on systems that still require their full attention. He questioned whether NHTSA is aware of the videos and if it has evaluated Tesla's safeguards when cabin cameras are obstructed or drivers interfere with detection.
Tesla has previously recalled approximately 2 million vehicles in the U.S. in 2023 to improve driver attention monitoring for Autopilot. The company states that Autopilot and FSD require fully attentive drivers with hands on the wheel, despite some users posting videos suggesting otherwise.
The NHTSA has been investigating Tesla's systems. In March, the agency escalated its probe into 3.2 million Teslas equipped with FSD, concerned about potential failures to detect issues or warn drivers in poor visibility. Last October, NHTSA opened a separate investigation into 2.9 million Tesla vehicles with FSD due to over 50 reports of traffic-safety violations and crashes, noting that the system has "induced vehicle behavior that violated traffic safety laws."