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NHTSA Warned Tesla Months Ahead of Autonomous Vehicle Probe

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NHTSA Warned Tesla Months Ahead of Autonomous Vehicle Probe

Tesla published posts on X that an NHTSA official found problematic. (David Paul Morris/Bloomberg News)

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Tesla Inc. was warned by a U.S. agency over how the electric vehicle maker promoted its driver-assistance technology on social media months before the regulator launched a flaw investigation in the system.

In a May 15 email to Tesla representatives, a National Highway Traffic Safety Administration official flagged seven social media posts that gave the agency pause. Every post on

“We believe Tesla’s posts contradict its stated message that the driver must maintain constant control over the dynamic driving task,” wrote Gregory Magno, division chief of NHTSA’s Office of Defects Investigation. Letter published on the agency’s website on November 8. “These posts may encourage viewers to view the vehicle as an FSD Supervised Chauffeur (sic) or ‘Robotaxi’ rather than a partial automation/driver assistance system that requires constant attention and intermittent intervention from the driver.”

The email shows how closely NHTSA monitored Tesla and FSD before investigating the system. Magno said the agency asked the company to notify NHTSA’s technical staff about offering free FSD trials. Tesla complied with this, he wrote, highlighting ways to notify drivers that their vehicles are not autonomous.

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Before and after submitting this briefing to NHTSA, Tesla published posts about the X that Magno found problematic. Examples included:

• A Tesla SUV owner wrote that he used FSD to get to the hospital while having a mild heart attack

• A video showing a Tesla owner using FSD while exiting the parking lot of a sporting event led commenters to write that they “could predict more drinkers would make it home safely.”

• Video of a Tesla driver admitting he was careless while driving

Magno wrote: “While Tesla has the discretion to communicate with the public as it sees fit, we note that these posts, along with the points Tesla has made to us, show lost opportunities to dampen enthusiasm for a new product and cautions regarding the proper use of this product.” We do.” .

Tesla did not respond to a request for comment.

NHTSA launched its FSD investigation in OctoberIt cited four crashes involving cars using the system. In one accident, a Tesla Model Y SUV fatally struck a pedestrian.

The agency is evaluating whether the system can detect fog and other low-visibility conditions and respond appropriately. Magno’s email was included in a request for information that NHTSA sent to Tesla on Election Day, Nov. 5.

The regulator published the application on its website on November 8 and gave Tesla until December 18 to respond to questions about FSD.

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