U.S. Regulators Probe Tesla FSD in Low-Visibility Crash, May Impose $139M Fine

The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has launched an investigation into accidents involving Tesla’s “Full Self-Driving” (FSD) system under low-visibility conditions and has issued a formal request to Tesla demanding 24 specific pieces of information. The probe covers approximately 3.2 million Tesla vehicles in the United States that have had FSD activated, focusing on nine crashes that occurred while FSD was engaged in low-visibility environments—including one fatality and one injury. NHTSA specifically requested Tesla provide an internal document titled “Radar Saves Us,” along with related materials such as internal communications, technical documentation, test records, and underlying data, as the agency believes this document may reflect Tesla’s awareness of limitations in its vision-only system under certain scenarios. Tesla began removing front radar sensors from Model 3 and Model Y vehicles in May 2021, shifting to a camera-only “Tesla Vision” approach. Additionally, NHTSA asked Tesla to clarify 15 marketing statements made by the company and CEO Elon Musk to determine whether they overstated the system’s automation capabilities. Tesla must respond to these requests by August 12, 2024; otherwise, it could face civil penalties of up to $27,874 per day, with a cumulative maximum penalty of approximately $139 million.