Elon Musk’s Tesla is under scrutiny for several issues. It is following reports on unexpected brake activations due to the driver assistance system autopilot. Here’s all about the Tesla investigation.
What is the Tesla investigation?
On Thursday, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) stated that it is opening a formal investigation into 416,000 vehicles after reports of spontaneous brake activation arose. They are tied to Tesla’s driver assistance system Autopilot. The department’s initial evaluation covered 2021 and 2022 Tesla Model 3 and Model Y in the US following 351 complaints over nine months and hence under investigation.
“Complainants report that the rapid deceleration can occur without warning, at random, and often repeated in a single drive cycle,” stated the NHTSA. They also added that the vehicles being reviewed are equipped with ‘Autopilot’, an advanced driver assistance system that allows them to steer automatically inside its lanes and brake. Owners have been raising their concerns with the firm but, the company has been dismissing the complaints. The company has been dismissing it while the people call it “phantom braking”. “The car braked hard and decelerated from 80 mph to 69 mph in less than a second,” stated an owner of a 2021 Tesla Model Y.
More about the phantom braking issue
In May, Elon Musk informed about dropping a radar sensor from its partially automated driving system. They aim at answering the phantom braking problem. However, Tesla did not respond to comment due to the disbanding of its media relations department. Due to increasing scrutiny from the NHTSA which is investigating several issues, the firm has recalled about 10 cars since October 2021. “Another day, another issue with Tesla. Good to see NHTSA being more active in reigning this company in,” tweeted Jonathan Adkins.
Adkins is the executive director of the Governors Highway Safety Association. The group is representing the NHTSA. Back in November 2021, Tesla recalled about 12,000 vehicles sold in the US sold since 2017. Tesla was calling the cars back due to a communication error that may be causing the sudden activation of emergency brakes. Fast forward to last week, the Tesla investigation took another turn as it recalled 578,607 vehicles sold in the US. The move was following the revelation that pedestrians may not hear the mandatory warning sound of a car coming towards them. It can be due to loud music or sounds from the “boombox”. However, Musk tweeted that “the fun police made us do it (sigh)”.