NHTSA Questions The Purpose Of Elon Musk's Tweet About Tesla's Driver Monitoring System

Tesla products are getting the attention of NHTSA again. (photo: twitter @tesla)

JAKARTA – The US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said Monday January 9 that it had contacted Tesla with questions about a tweet that CEO Elon Musk wrote about the driver monitoring function.

The December 31 tweet suggested drivers with a range of more than 10.000 miles (16.000 km) using Tesla's "Full Self-Driving" (FSD) software system should be able to disable the "steering wheel". This is a warning that instructs drivers to hold the wheel and make sure they are paying attention to the road. "Agreed, the update is coming in January," Musk said.

NHTSA last Monday said it was "contacting Tesla to gather additional information." The Associated Press also reported earlier NHTSA statements. But Tesla did not immediately comment.

The US auto safety agency confirmed questions about Musk's tweet in light of an ongoing investigation into damage to 830,000 Tesla vehicles with the Autopilot driver assistance system and involving collisions with parked emergency vehicles.

NHTSA is reviewing whether Tesla vehicles sufficiently ensure drivers pay attention, and previously said evidence showed drivers in most of the accidents it investigated complied with Tesla's warning strategy that seeks to get the driver's attention, raising questions about its effectiveness.

Tesla sells the FSD software for $15.000 as an add-on that allows its vehicles to change lanes and park independently. This system complements the standard "Autopilot" feature, which allows the car to steer, accelerate and brake in its lane without driver intervention. Both systems use the steering wheel monitoring function.

Last month, NHTSA said it had opened two new special investigations into accidents involving Tesla vehicles in which advanced driver assistance systems were alleged to have been used. Since 2016, NHTSA has opened more than three dozen Tesla-specific accident investigations in which advanced driver assistance systems such as Autopilot were allegedly used leading to 19 reported crash deaths.

In December 2021, NHTSA opened an investigation into Tesla's decision to allow games to be played by passengers on the front center touchscreen covering 580.000 vehicles over "Passenger Gaming" vehicles due to driver distraction issues.

As soon as the investigation opened, Tesla told NHTSA that it would stop allowing video games to be played on vehicle screens while the car is in motion.