Tesla’s robotaxi plans have the attention of federal investigators

Federal information investigators person sent Tesla a elaborate database of questions connected its upcoming robotaxi work arsenic portion of an investigation into however the company’s “Full Self-Driving (Supervised)” bundle operates successful low-visibility conditions.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s Office of Defects Investigation wants the further accusation astir Full Self-Driving (Supervised) — oregon “FSD” — successful bid to “understand however Tesla plans to measure its vehicles and driving automation technologies for usage connected nationalist roads,” according to the letter published Monday and archetypal reported by Reuters.

Tesla hasn’t been quiescent astir plans to motorboat a paid ride-hailing robotaxi work successful Austin, Texas utilizing its ain fleet vehicles this coming June. But it appears that Tesla’s April 23 station connected X captured the attraction of national regulators.

That post, which is cited successful the letter, read: “FSD Supervised ride-hailing work is unrecorded for an aboriginal acceptable of employees successful Austin & San Francisco Bay Area. We’ve completed implicit 1.5k trips & 15k miles of driving. This work helps america make & validate FSD networks, the mobile app, conveyance allocation, ngo power & distant assistance operations.”

NHTSA opened its probe into Tesla’s alleged “Full Self-Driving (Supervised)” bundle successful October aft 4 reported crashes successful low-visibility situations. Tesla’s FSD bundle is an precocious operator assistance strategy that requires the operator to support their hands connected the instrumentality adjacent arsenic it handles immoderate of the driving operations similar braking and steering successful definite environments and conditions.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has said the robotaxis volition usage the yet-to-be-released “unsupervised” mentation of its Full Self-Driving software. 

The investigators person been looking into whether FSD tin “detect and respond appropriately to reduced roadway visibility conditions,” specified arsenic “sun glare, fog, oregon airborne dust.”

In its May letter, the bureau sent Tesla a bid of questions squarely aimed astatine determining whether the automated driving strategy successful its planned robotaxis is the aforesaid — oregon akin — to FSD Supervised. The bureau asked for specifics connected the fleet size and which conveyance models volition beryllium utilized successful the robotaxi service, however Tesla plans to find whether its robotaxi strategy is harmless and if the automated driving strategy has immoderate narration to its FSD Supervised product.

The investigators besides asked Tesla to picture however it “intends to guarantee the information of its robotaxi operations successful reduced roadway visibility conditions, specified arsenic prima glare, fog, airborne dust, rain, oregon snow.”