Tesla was just granted a new extension for its current investigation. This comes in connection with its vehicles’ purported unlawful engagement in traffic violations while driving in “full self-driving” mode. The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has been investigating the company’s full self-driving (FSD) technology. This technology is currently being used by nearly 2.9 million vehicles nationwide. This applies to almost every Tesla on the road with FSD technology in their vehicles.
Originally, Tesla had until January 19, 2025 to answer the complaints. The NHTSA has given the electric automaker another five weeks to get its answer together. This investigation discussed above has uncovered dangerous flaws that undermine the safety and efficiency promised by FSD technology. Both regulators and consumers are closely monitoring developments in these areas.
Besides going through and responding to the investigation, Tesla is quickly developing and internally testing a substantially improved version of its full self-driving technology. This new iteration promises better performance, so much so that driver intervention is not needed. Tesla’s CEO Elon Musk has ardently pushed for the deployment of this superior version for years now. He has faced several lengthy delays in the process.
Tesla certainly leads the conversation when it comes to electric vehicles (EVs) in North America, but it has some stiff competition. BYD, a state-owned Chinese heavy hitter, made headlines as it continues to shoot for the top of the global EV leaderboard. Last year, BYD sold 2.26 million vehicles, making it the largest electric vehicle manufacturer in the world. The emerging competition is a testament to just how fast the automotive world is moving right now. In this case, innovation and regulatory compliance are both central to fostering success.
Tesla has been dealing with an active federal investigation over the safety of its tech while working on its greatly improved FSD. Clearly, industry stakeholders are looking and closely watching how this affects consumer safety, regulatory guardrails in the growing EV industry. The results of this inquiry could set an important precedent to shape policy and industry innovation moving forward.
