Trump USDOT nominee says Tesla safety probe continues

16/1/2025 6:16

President-elect Donald

Trump's nominee to head the Transportation Department said he

would allow an ongoing government probe into Tesla's advanced

driver assistance system to continue.



The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration in

October opened an investigation into 2.4 million Tesla vehicles

equipped with Full Self-Driving (FSD) software after four

reported collisions, including a fatal 2023 crash. "I will let

NHTSA do their investigation," former lawmaker Sean Duffy said

at a U.S. Senate hearing. Tesla CEO Elon Musk is a close adviser

to Trump, who has previously criticized NHTSA's regulatory

efforts.



"Regardless of outside political pressure, can you commit to

allowing (NHTSA) to follow the evidence and operate

objectively?" Senator Ed Markey asked Duffy.



Tesla did not immediately respond to a request for comment.



Last week, NHTSA opened a separate probe into 2.6 million

Tesla vehicles over reports of crashes involving a feature that

allows users to move their cars remotely. NHTSA said it is

opening a preliminary evaluation into Tesla's Actually Smart

Summon feature over reports of four crashes involving Tesla

vehicles.



The vehicles failed to detect posts, or parked vehicles,

when they were operating on Actually Smart Summon, NHTSA said,

adding it had reports where users "had too little reaction time

to avoid a crash, either with the available line of sight or

releasing the phone app button, which stops the vehicle's

movement."



Tesla in December 2023 recalled more than two million U.S.

vehicles to install new safeguards in its Autopilot advanced

driver-assistance system. The agency is still probing whether

that recall is adequate to address concerns drivers are not

paying attention.



The scrutiny of the advanced driver-assistance system comes

as Musk looks to pivot towards self-driving technology and

robotaxis.



Duffy also said he would review the Federal Aviation

Administration's proposed $633,000 fine on Musk's SpaceX, after

the agency said it violated launch license requirements.