NHTSA Expands Probe Into Tesla Robotaxi Safety

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has demanded comprehensive information from Tesla regarding its robotaxi service, focusing on whether the vehicles will use SAE Level 2 or Level 3 autonomous technology and how they will operate safely in adverse conditions. NHTSA's inquiry covers crash reporting, emergency procedures, system testing, compliance with traffic laws, and monitoring of vehicle performance. The agency is also seeking hardware, software, and data system details and has requested Tesla to release safety data it previously withheld. Tesla faces a June 19 deadline to respond or risk significant daily penalties. The scrutiny follows Tesla's early rollout of its employee ride-hailing service in Austin and San Francisco, where the company reports over 1,500 trips and 15,000 miles completed. The investigation is part of broader federal concerns about the safety of Tesla's Full Self-Driving (FSD) system.