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The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has raised strong concerns with Tesla over the social media descriptions used for their vehicles.
The federal agency has stated the claims that their cars are autonomous are potentially misleading and pose a risk to drivers.
As initially reported by CNBC, correspondence was sent to the EV giant’s board in May and made available to the public on Friday (Nov. 8).
“Tesla’s X (Twitter) account has re-posted or endorsed postings that exhibit disengaged driver behavior,” outlined the NHTSA’s Gregory Magno.
“Tesla’s postings conflict with its stated messaging that the driver is to maintain continued control over the dynamic driving task,” he added.
Magno, a senior official within the agency’s office of defects investigations, advised consumers of Tesla’s online content that their expectations of FSD may not be fulfilled.
Specifically, viewers could expect a car equipped with the firm’s Full Self-Driving Supervised system to have the full capabilities of a robotaxi, even though they require human driver supervision to perform essential safety tasks such as braking or steering.
The NHTSA is probing Elon Musk’s company over potential safety failings in Tesla’s FSD option, with the latest investigation following a string of incidents, including a fatal collision.
Tesla has until December 18 to respond to the letter from the NHTSA, with potential penalties of up to $135.8 million if the EV maker fails to take action.
Vehicle safety watchdog worried Elon Musk could get control over NHTSA!
“Auto safety advocates fear that if Musk gains some control over NHTSA, the Full Self-Driving and other investigations into Tesla could be derailed.
Musk even floated the idea of him…— kmartyn (@kmartyn5) November 9, 2024
Magno outlined a series of posts shared by Tesla on X, including one depicting a driver using the FSD system to get to the hospital during a suspected heart attack. Another suggested “advantages to using FSD while inebriated”.
May Mislead Consumers
The NHTSA has implored Tesla to adopt a communications strategy consistent with the user instructions it provides and “appropriate to the level of capability deployed to the public roads.”
U.S. Transport Secretary Pete Buttigieg has added to the criticism, railing against Tesla for their labels like ‘Full Self-Driving’ and ‘Autopilot’ insisting they mislead consumers to believe their vehicles can operate autonomously when they require human oversight at all times.
This goes against the grain of Musk’s aspirations for the autonomous Models Y and 3 to hit the roads without human drivers as early as next year, as well as the prospects of operating robotaxis without traditional driving controls by 2026.
NHTSA concerns will be exacerbated by the immediacy of these plans, given the uncertainty of the situation at present.
