Tesla’s Autopilot feature is under investigation in the US

One of the electric car maker’s most controversial features is being probed by the US government’s road safety administration.

Tesla is being investigated by the US government.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has opened a formal safety probe into the electric car maker’s “Autopilot” driver assistance technology.

Tesla’s Autopilot technology uses eight cameras to provide a 360 degree view around the car with up to 250 metres of range, this is complimented by an array of sensors.

According to Tesla’s website: “Autopilot advanced safety and convenience features are designed to assist you with the most burdensome parts of driving.”

“Autopilot enables your car to steer, accelerate and brake automatically within its lane.”

Tesla also says the current Autopilot features require active driver supervision and do not make the vehicle autonomous.

The national Highway Traffic Safety Administration in the US is investigating tesla’s Autopilot technology.

Most car makers have similar driver aids, but with less controversial names such as lane keep assist, radar cruise control and autonomous emergency braking.

The NHTSA has identified 11 crashes since January 2018 in which Teslas have struck vehicles at the scene of an accident where emergency services are present with flashing lights, flares and other identifying markers.

There have been incidents in the US where owners have been misusing Autopilot features with some sitting in the back seat while on the motorway.

NHTSA has investigated 31 Tesla crashes where it suspected semi-autonomous driver aids were in use, it ruled out Autopilot in three of the crashes. 10 deaths were reported in these incidents.

About 765,000 Teslas in the US, built since 2014 and equipped with Autopilot will be part of the probe.

Tesla claims Autopilot will keep the car in its lane and brake and accelerate automatically.

The NHTSA says it will assess technologies that are used to monitor, assist and enforce the driver’s engagement when Autopilot is being used.

The agency could demand a recall and potentially impose limits on when and how the technology is used.

This isn’t the first time Tesla’s Autopilot tech has come under fire.

In 2020 a German court found that calling the feature Autopilot exaggerated its capabilities and the company could be forced to change the name of this feature in that jurisdiction.

Tesla also claims its vehicles have all the hardware needed for future full self-driving, which would allow the vehicle to conduct short and long distance trips with no action required by the person in the driver’s seat.

Tesla charges more than $10,000 for its full self-driving feature in Australia, which in no way is capable of full self driving now or in the immediate future. The price gives buyers access to all future software updates that would eventually make it full self driving. No date has been given on when this would be possible.

Tesla owners in Australia need to pay more than $10,000 for a future Full Self Driving feature.

Earlier this year the company sent documents to the California Department of Motor Vehicles where Tesla’s associate general counsel, Eric Williams, writes the Full Self Driving Mode is not autonomous.

“Currently neither Autopilot nor FSD Capability is an autonomous system, and currently no comprising feature, whether singularly or collectively, is autonomous or makes our vehicles autonomous,” says Williams.

Williams goes on to say that the features are level 2 autonomous.

Autonomous technology is rated from levels 1 through 5. Level 1 features many common driver aids such as radar cruise control that maintains distance with the car in front of you at variable speeds.

Originally published as Tesla’s Autopilot feature is under investigation in the US