NHTSA questions Tesla on how Autopilot system monitors drivers

U.S. auto regulator NHTSA has sent a special order to Tesla Inc.  asking questions about changes to the driver monitoring system for its Autopilot software, documents released on Tuesday showed.

Federal regulators are honing in on the systems Tesla uses to ensure that drivers are paying attention while their vehicle is operating on Autopilot.

In its order dated on July 26, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration raised concerns about a change by Tesla which allows drivers to use Autopilot for extended periods without prompting the driver to apply torque to the steering wheel.

"The resulting relaxation of controls...could lead to greater driver inattention and failure of the driver to properly supervise Autopilot," NHTSA said in its letter to Tesla.

The agency is investigating the performance of Autopilot after identifying more than a dozen crashes in which Tesla vehicles hit stationary emergency vehicles. It is also investigating whether Tesla vehicles adequately ensure drivers are paying attention when using the driver assistance system.

In June 2022, NHTSA upgraded an earlier probe of 830,000 Tesla vehicles into an engineering analysis — a required step before it could potentially demand a recall. Last month, NHTSA sought updated responses and current data from Tesla in the probe.

Autopilot is intended to enable cars to steer, accelerate and brake automatically within their lane, while enhanced Autopilot can assist in changing lanes on highways.

In April, Tesla CEO Elon Musk tweeted that Tesla is gradually reducing alerts aimed at making sure drivers using Tesla's "Full Self-Driving" (FSD) system keep their hands on the wheel. He also this week said "Yeah" in response to an X message that "No steering wheel nag will be a *game changer* for FSD user satisfaction."

The special order requests documents and explanations by Aug. 25 to help with NHTSA's inquiry. Late responses can incur a penalty of $26,315 per day.

Tesla complied with the deadline and the response will be kept confidential.

In a document released later Tuesday, NHTSA said: "Since the request for confidential treatment covers the response in its entirety, no public version of the response is available."

Automotive News contributed to this report.