After a fatal crash in Texas last week involving a Tesla with no one behind the wheel raised interest in self-driving cars, multiple federal agencies are investigating the electric car company.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, a federal auto safety agency, is investigating the crash. The agency also revealed on Thursday that it has opened nearly 30 investigations into the company over the past several years, 23 of which are currently open. Many involve the car’s much-hyped autopilot feature, which the agency said has been engaged in at least three fatal Tesla crashes since 2016.
ELON MUSK CLAIMS AUTOPILOT WAS NOT ON DURING DEADLY CRASH, CONTRADICTING LAW ENFORCEMENT
At the same time, another federal agency, the National Transportation Safety Board, has opened an investigation into the company. The agency, which issues car safety regulations, is not only looking into the crash itself but also the post-crash fire. Local officials said it took hours to put out because the car’s batteries caused the flames to reignite repeatedly.
On Thursday, two Democratic senators, Ed Markey of Massachusetts and Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, sent a letter to the NHTSA, asking that the agency seriously consider regulating the use of autopilot.
“We fear safety concerns involving these vehicles are becoming a pattern, which is incredibly worrisome and deserves your undivided attention,” the senators wrote.
While the senators acknowledged that the autopilot, which was designed to improve driver safety, can help prevent crashes, its use must be implemented “strategically and safely.” The agency is reviewing the letter.
Tesla’s CEO Elon Musk claimed on Monday that the autopilot “was not enabled” when the crash occurred, which killed two men. Reports from the crash, which occurred near Houston, stated that “no one was driving” when the car lost control and hit a tree. Prior to the crash, the men’s wives said they heard them discussing the car’s autopilot feature.
Several hours before the crash, Musk tweeted that when the autopilot is engaged in Teslas, the car approaches “10 times lower chance of accident than [the] average vehicle.”
Musk’s tweet quoted statistics from Tesla claiming that there was only “one accident for every 4.19 million miles driven in which drivers had Autopilot engaged,” compared to the average one car crash for every 484,000 miles, according to the NHTSA.
Tesla did not respond to a request for comment. The NHTSA told the Washington Examiner that it is conducting its investigation.
Since President Joe Biden took office, the NHTSA has taken a more aggressive stance against Tesla, opening more investigations into its self-driving features.
“With a new administration in place, we’re reviewing regulations around autonomous vehicles,” the agency said in March. Last year, then-President Donald Trump’s Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao said that the agency, which oversees the NHTSA, would look at autopilot safety “without hampering innovation in development of automated driving systems.”
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On Thursday, newly installed Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg weighed in on the issue, saying that he was following the details of the crash “very closely” as the agency continues to collect information on what happened.
Buttigieg stressed during a press conference that most self-driving technology continues “to depend on the expectation that an attentive driver is behind the wheel.” Buttigieg did not address the possibility of regulations. Buttigieg hinted during his January confirmation hearings that self-driving car regulations could soon be coming from the Biden administration.
