WASHINGTON — U.S. auto safety regulators have upgraded and extended an investigation of Tesla's Autopilot advanced driver-assistance system to cover an estimated 830,000 vehicles from the 2014-22 model years.
The action comes after the agency in August opened a preliminary evaluation to assess the performance of Tesla's Autopilot after 12 Tesla crashes in the U.S. that resulted in 17 injuries and one death.
The crashes — now totaling 16 — involved Tesla vehicles with Autopilot engaged that were driven near first-responder scenes and subsequently struck one or more stopped emergency vehicles involved with those scenes.