(Bloomberg) -- The US opened a federal investigation into whether Tesla Inc.’s partial-automation system marketed as Full Self-Driving is defective after multiple crashes, one of which resulted in a fatality.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said Friday it will assess whether Tesla’s system, also known as FSD, has the ability to detect and appropriately respond to fog and other reduced visibility conditions. The agency said four crashes have been reported in such scenarios where FSD was engaged.
In one of the crashes, a Tesla Model Y sport utility vehicle fatally struck a pedestrian. Another collision involving a Model 3 sedan resulted in a minor reported injury, according to NHTSA. Tesla representatives didn’t respond to an emailed request for comment.
The probe carries the potential of setting back Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk’s efforts to position Tesla as a leader in automated driving. While FSD users are currently required to constantly supervise the system, Musk claimed during a product event last week that drivers in Texas and California will no longer need to pay attention sometime next year.
Tesla shares fell 0.8% shortly after the start of regular trading. The stock sold off after Musk’s unveiling of autonomous vehicle prototypes last week lacked details on how the company will realize his self-driving ambitions.
While the defect investigation involves an estimated 2.4 million Tesla vehicles, only a fraction of the company’s customers pay for FSD.
The probe comes on top of a recall query NHTSA opened in April into whether Tesla had done enough to keep drivers from misusing another set of assistance features the company markets as Autopilot. The agency is looking into whether a software update Tesla deployed late last year ensures that drivers stay engaged while using the system.
NHTSA has said there’s “a critical safety gap” between what drivers think Autopilot can do and its actual capabilities. That gap has led to foreseeable misuse of the system and avoidable crashes, according to the agency.
In April, NHTSA said it had found 211 incidents in which Teslas crashed on Autopilot, despite there being enough time for drivers to avoid or mitigate collisions. In 111 cases, drivers went off roadways after inadvertently disengaging the system.
Musk has said Tesla’s ability to develop autonomous-vehicle technology ultimately will determine whether the company is worth lots of money, or “basically zero.” The automaker charges $8,000 for FSD in the US and has said it will seek regulatory approval to deploy in Europe and China early next year.
--With assistance from Subrat Patnaik and Keith Laing.
(Updates with table after the third paragraph.)
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