Tesla has submitted a partial response to the Nationwide Freeway Site visitors Security Administration’s data request after the company initiated a proper security probe into the automaker’s Autopilot driver-assistance system.

Sadly, Tesla’s response is just not public because the EV maker requested “confidential enterprise remedy,” NHTSA famous in an October 22 memo launched yesterday and picked up by Automotive Information.

“The producer’s partial response to the Workplace of Defect Investigation (ODI)’s Info Request for this investigation has been acquired and is being reviewed. The corporate has requested confidential enterprise data (CBI) remedy for the whole thing of the data request submission.”

NHTSA memo

Tesla’s confidential response is to an 11-page letter from NHTSA dated August 31 that included questions the EV maker was required to reply by October 22 as a part of its investigation.

Earlier in October, NHTSA requested Tesla why it had not issued a recall to handle software program updates made to Autopilot to enhance its means to detect emergency autos. The company’s probe into 765,000 autos within the US got here after a number of crashes involving Tesla EVs and emergency autos. 

NHTSA has documented 12 crashes that concerned Tesla autos utilizing ADAS and emergency autos; most of them came about after darkish.

As you in all probability know, NHTSA has one other situation with Tesla. In a separate letter, the company requested Tesla about its “Autosteer on Metropolis Streets” launched in October 2020, which the carmaker additionally refers to as “Full Self-Driving” (FSD). Within the doc, NHTSA raised issues about Tesla limiting drivers’ rights to reveal questions of safety.

“Regardless of Tesla’s characterization of FSD as ‘beta,’ it’s able to and is getting used on public roads.” 

On October 24, Tesla rolled again the newest model of its Full Self-Driving (FSD) beta software program (10.3) to the sooner one (10.2) because of software program points. It occurred lower than a day after the replace’s launch, following complaints from customers relating to false collision warnings and different points.

Elon Musk confirmed the rollback on Twitter and posted a follow-up the following day explaining that the difficulty turned out to be energy saving mode interacting with FSD. Tesla has till November 1 to reply to NHTSA’s most up-to-date data requests.

The NHTSA is just not the one group asking Tesla to evaluation its driver help tech. In an October 25 letter, the Nationwide Transportation Security Board (NTSB) mentioned it is “deeply involved” at Tesla’s failure to reply to the protection suggestions issued in 2017 associated to its Autopilot driver-assist characteristic.

Again then, the group had referred to as on Tesla and different producers to restrict using superior driver-assist techniques to roadways for which they have been designed; NTSB additionally advisable automakers to develop simpler methods to make sure drivers have been paying consideration. Tesla was the one automaker to not reply, in line with NTSB.

“In case you are critical about placing security entrance and heart in Tesla car design, I invite you to finish motion on the protection suggestions we issued to you 4 years in the past.”

NTSB Chairwoman Jennifer Homendy

Within the letter, the NTSB provides that subsequent accidents during which Autopilot was concerned clearly confirmed the vehicles’ “potential for misuse requires a system design change to make sure security.”

The NTSB has no regulatory authority, but it surely depends on its powers of persuasion on authorities and trade.