Federal regulators have opened an investigation into repeated late crash reports from Tesla concerning its driver-assistance and self-driving systems. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says Tesla submitted reports several months after incidents instead of within the required five days. The probe will examine why reports were delayed, whether required data and details were included, and whether additional unreported crashes exist. Tesla told the agency the delays were due to a data collection issue that it says has been fixed. The inquiry follows an October probe into self-driving problems in low-visibility conditions affecting 2.4 million vehicles. Tesla recently launched a self-driving taxi service in Austin and plans broader deployment.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said in a filing on Thursday that Tesla's reports on "numerous" incidents involving its driver assistance and self-driving features were submitted far too late - several months after the crashes instead of within five days as required. The probe comes two months after the electric vehicle maker run by Elon Musk started a self-driving taxi service in Austin, Texas, with hopes of soon offering it nationwide.
The safety agency said the probe will focus on why Tesla took so long to report the crashes, whether the reports included all the necessary data and details and if there are crashes that the agency still doesn't know about. Tesla did not respond to a request for comment, but the agency noted that the company has told it the delays were "due to an issue with Tesla's data collection," which Tesla says has now been fixed.
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