Under threat of a million dollar fine: Tesla has to disclose autopilot data

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The US traffic safety authority requires detailed information on how the “Autopilot” driver assistance system from the US electric car manufacturer Tesla works, setting a deadline and threatening a penalty.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) gives Tesla until October 22nd. Until then, the car manufacturer must provide a detailed explanation of how the so-called autopilot works and, above all, what precautions Tesla has taken to prevent malfunctions.

The authority wants to know how to ensure that drivers keep their eyes on the road while the autopilot is activated and what the limits of its use are. The authority wants to investigate the suspicion that the security measures taken by Tesla may not be sufficient. The fact that the autopilot is only approved for use on motorways, but Tesla has not taken any precautions against someone being able to activate it on other roads, should also not go down well.

The NHTSA has also requested the total number of Tesla sold in the United States. The agency wants to consider all autopilot-related arbitration and court proceedings, as well as all complaints Tesla has received from customers about driver assistance technology.

In the event that Tesla should miss the deadline, the NHTSA has threatened the manufacturer with fines of up to 115 million US dollars. The new demand by the NHTSA shows that the official investigation announced in August of the eleven accidents involving autopilot to date is progressing. A twelfth incident occurred last Saturday.

In the accidents that had occurred since January 2018, Teslas had run into emergency vehicles from the fire brigade or police with the autopilot apparently switched on. And that, although these – for example at an accident site – would have drawn attention to themselves with different warning lights. In the accidents investigated, there were a total of 17 injuries. One person was killed.

Tesla responded proactively to the incidents a few months ago and finally activated the camera above the rearview mirror in the Model 3 and Y. In times when the autopilot is activated, the software should “detect and report inattentiveness on the part of the driver”.