NHTSA opens an investigation into Tesla Full Self-Driving after crashes in reduced visibility, including a fatal pedestrian strike, October 2024

Changes to what this case says, with the reason. Every earlier version is kept.

• 2026-10-21: Inference: signed by. The interpretation's wording changed after the editor signed it (second, independent check of 21 october 2026); the signature is cleared so the editor signs the corrected wording.
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  Before: Saurabh Bhatnagar

  After:
• 2026-10-21: Inference: value. Found in the editor's second, independent check of the interpretations, 21 october 2026: this comes from nhtsa's march 2026 opening summary (ea26002_open); tesla has since filed confidential answers to questions asking for these dates and vehicles, so the statement is dated to its source.
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  Before: A case about sensing. The regulator's stated focus is whether a camera-only driver-assistance system detects when glare, fog or dust has degraded its own perception, and warns the human supervising it in time to respond; in the crashes it reviewed, it says the system did not detect the problem or did not warn until immediately before the crash. The record does not show a defect finding or a recall, and the regulator does not yet know when the maker's updated detection reached which vehicles. It is the physical twin of an agent that keeps acting on inputs it cannot verify without saying so

  After: A case about sensing. The regulator's stated focus is whether a camera-only driver-assistance system detects when glare, fog or dust has degraded its own perception, and warns the human supervising it in time to respond; in the crashes it reviewed, it says the system did not detect the problem or did not warn until immediately before the crash. The record does not show a defect finding or a recall, and in March 2026 the regulator said it had no information on when the maker's updated detection was deployed or which vehicles had it. It is the physical twin of an agent that keeps acting on inputs it cannot verify without saying so
• 2026-10-20: Inference: value. Found in the editor's source re-check of 19-20 october 2026: the ea26002 opening resume frames the question as the system's ability 'to detect degradation and alert the driver with sufficient time to respond', not whether it may engage in poor visibility, which was the earlier wording's mechanism; it also says 'odi does not have information on when the update was deployed and which vehicles have the updated system'. the unchecked superlative 'clearest' is dropped. the interpretation was already unsigned (signed_by null); the editor must sign the new wording.
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  Before: {"value": "The Register's clearest case about sensing: should a driver-assistance system be allowed to engage in visibility conditions its sensors May not handle? It is the physical twin of asking whether an agent should act on inputs it cannot verify.", "source_ids": ["PE24031"]}

  After: {"value": "A case about sensing. The regulator's stated focus is whether a camera-only driver-assistance system detects when glare, fog or dust has degraded its own perception, and warns the human supervising it in time to respond; in the crashes it reviewed, it says the system did not detect the problem or did not warn until immediately before the crash. The record does not show a defect finding or a recall, and the regulator does not yet know when the maker's updated detection reached which vehicles. It is the physical twin of an agent that keeps acting on inputs it cannot verify without saying so.", "source_ids": ["PE24031", "EA26002_OPEN", "EA26002"]}
• 2026-10-20: Controls: c-e2. Found in the editor's source re-check of 19-20 october 2026: neither cited record states that no engagement restriction exists; the ea26002-01 letter (request 7) asks tesla which reduced-visibility conditions make the system 'disengage ..., handing over control to the driver', so the regulator has not established it, and quotes tesla posts 'fsd supervised can drive in whiteout conditions' and 'fsd supervised isn't limited to select highways or specific conditions'. high confidence was not supported; bucket unchanged.
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  Before: {"note": "Engagement restriction in low visibility (not evidenced)", "confidence": "high"}

  After: {"note": "No hard restriction on engaging FSD in reduced visibility is evidenced: NHTSA is still asking Tesla which reduced-visibility conditions make the system disengage, and quotes Tesla posts that FSD Supervised 'can drive in whiteout conditions' and 'isn't limited to select highways or specific conditions'", "confidence": "medium"}
• 2026-10-20: Controls: c-v2: note. Found in the editor's source re-check of 19-20 october 2026: the pe24031 opening resume is 'prompted by: standing general order (sgo) incident reports'; the ea26002 opening resume adds that 'tesla also described internal data and labeling limitations' and 'odi believes this limitation could have led to under-reporting of subject crashes'. bucket and confidence unchanged.
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  Before: Mandatory crash reporting surfaced the pattern

  After: Mandatory crash reports under NHTSA's Standing General Order prompted the investigation; NHTSA also records Tesla's description of internal data and labeling limitations that NHTSA believes could have led to under-reporting of these crashes
• 2026-10-20: Controls: c-i3: note. Found in the editor's source re-check of 19-20 october 2026: the ea26002 opening resume defines the problem as 'failure of the fsd's degradation detection system ... to detect a degraded state and to warn the driver appropriately' and says the data 'raise concerns that tesla's degradation detection system, both as originally deployed and later updated, fails to detect and/or warn the driver appropriately'. bucket and confidence unchanged.
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  Before: Reduced-visibility detection (under investigation)

  After: Degraded-visibility detection and driver warning: NHTSA's stated concern is that FSD's degradation detection system, as first deployed and as updated, fails to detect a degraded state in glare and airborne obscurants and to warn the driver in time (concerns under investigation, not a finding)
• 2026-10-20: Outcome: as of. Found in the editor's source re-check of 19-20 october 2026: the latest nhtsa document in the ea26002 file is the 22 september 2026 extension memo; nhtsa's public investigation record for ea26002, read 20 october 2026, shows no closing date and no recall, so the outcome stands as of october 2026.
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  Before: Jul 2026

  After: Oct 2026
• 2026-10-20: Fields: recovery accountability. Found in the editor's source re-check of 19-20 october 2026: the upgrade happened on 18 march 2026 (pe24031 closing resume: 'date closed: 03/18/2026', 'upgraded to an engineering analysis'; ea26002 opening resume: 'date opened: 03/18/2026', population 3,203,754, 'six recent potentially related incidents'), not in july 2026 as the only cited ea document implied. the 2 july 2026 letter set a response date of 12 august 2026; nhtsa's 22 september 2026 memo extends one request to 18 november 2026.
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  Before: {"value": "Preliminary evaluation opened 17 October 2024 covering about 2.4 million vehicles; later upgraded to Engineering Analysis EA26002, covering nine crashes; outcome pending", "source_ids": ["PE24031", "EA26002"]}

  After: {"value": "Preliminary Evaluation PE24031 opened 17 October 2024 (estimated 2,410,002 vehicles, four crashes). NHTSA closed it and opened Engineering Analysis EA26002 on 18 March 2026 (estimated 3,203,754 vehicles, nine crashes, and six more potentially related incidents to analyse). Information request EA26002-01 was sent to Tesla on 2 July 2026 with a response due 12 August 2026; NHTSA has granted Tesla partial extensions, the latest on 22 September 2026 moving one answer to 18 November 2026. Outcome pending", "source_ids": ["PE24031", "PE24031_CLOSE", "EA26002_OPEN", "EA26002", "EA26002_EXT"]}
• 2026-10-20: Fields: recovery automated fallback. Found in the editor's source re-check of 19-20 october 2026: the ea26002 opening resume states the system did not 'provide alerts when camera performance had deteriorated until immediately before the crash occurred'; the ea26002-01 letter (request 7) asks tesla which conditions make the system disengage and the time intervals to alert and disengagement. type kept as interpretation.
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  Before: {"value": "Not evidenced", "source_ids": ["PE24031"], "confidence": "low"}

  After: {"value": "Not evidenced as working in these crashes: NHTSA states that in the crashes it reviewed the system did not alert the driver until immediately before the crash, if at all; which reduced-visibility conditions make the system hand control back to the driver, and how quickly, is among NHTSA's open questions to Tesla", "source_ids": ["EA26002_OPEN", "EA26002"], "confidence": "medium"}
• 2026-10-20: Fields: outcome. Found in the editor's source re-check of 19-20 october 2026: the ea26002 opening resume's failure report summary counts 9 crashes, 2 injury incidents, 1 injury, 1 fatality incident and 1 fatality; the outcome date moves to october 2026, when the investigation was confirmed still open.
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  Before: {"value": "State: harm. One pedestrian fatality, one injury, among the four crashes in the opening resume. As of Jul 2026.", "source_ids": ["PE24031"]}

  After: {"value": "State: harm. One pedestrian fatality and one injury among the four crashes in the opening resume; NHTSA's March 2026 resumes count nine crashes, with one fatality, two injury incidents and one injury. As of Oct 2026.", "source_ids": ["PE24031", "EA26002_OPEN"]}
• 2026-10-20: Fields: envelope constraints: source ids. Found in the editor's source re-check of 19-20 october 2026: the pe24031 opening resume is silent on engagement restrictions; the ea26002-01 letter asks tesla which reduced-visibility conditions make the system 'disengage ..., handing over control to the driver' (request 7) and quotes tesla posts that fsd supervised 'isn't limited to select highways or specific conditions'.
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  Before: ["PE24031"]

  After: ["EA26002"]
• 2026-10-20: Fields: decision. Found in the editor's source re-check of 19-20 october 2026: the ea26002 opening resume narrows the question to the 'degradation detection system' and its ability 'to detect degradation and alert the driver with sufficient time to respond', and states that in reviewed crashes the system 'did not detect common roadway conditions that impaired camera visibility and/or provide alerts ... until immediately before the crash occurred' and that fsd 'lost track of or never detected a lead vehicle in its path'; odi writes that the data 'raise concerns'.
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  Before: {"value": "Not disclosed; the investigation asks whether the system's engineering controls detect and respond appropriately to reduced visibility", "source_ids": ["PE24031"]}

  After: {"value": "Not disclosed. The investigation by NHTSA (the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration) opened to assess whether FSD's engineering controls detect and respond appropriately to reduced visibility; since March 2026 it focuses on FSD's degradation detection system and whether it detects a degraded state and alerts the driver with time to respond. NHTSA states that in the crashes it reviewed the system did not detect conditions that impaired camera visibility, or did not alert the driver, until immediately before the crash, and that in further crashes found in Tesla's responses FSD also lost track of or never detected a lead vehicle in its path. These are concerns NHTSA has raised, not a defect finding", "source_ids": ["PE24031", "EA26002_OPEN"]}
• 2026-10-20: Fields: actor. Found in the editor's source re-check of 19-20 october 2026: the pe24031 opening resume gives 'population: 2,410,002 (estimated)' for model years 2016-2024; the ea26002 opening resume (18 march 2026) gives 'population: 3,203,754 (estimated)' for 2016-2026 model s, x, 2017-2026 model 3, 2020-2026 model y and 2023-2026 cybertruck.
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  Before: {"value": "FSD (Supervised) across roughly 2.4 million vehicles, model years 2016 to 2024", "source_ids": ["PE24031"]}

  After: {"value": "FSD (FSD Beta or FSD (Supervised)) on an estimated 2,410,002 vehicles, model years 2016 to 2024, when the investigation opened; the Engineering Analysis opened in March 2026 covers an estimated 3,203,754 vehicles, model years 2016 to 2026", "source_ids": ["PE24031", "EA26002_OPEN"]}
• 2026-10-20: Fields: mandate objective. Found in the editor's source re-check of 19-20 october 2026: the ea26002-01 letter defines the subject system as fsd-beta and fsd-supervised, 'also referred to as fsd or autosteer on city streets', deployed 'on public roadways within the united states'. autosteer on city streets is another name for the system, not a part of it, and the letter does not say 'surface streets and highways'.
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  Before: FSD (Supervised), including Autosteer on City Streets, on surface streets and highways under driver supervision

  After: FSD Beta and FSD (Supervised), also referred to as Autosteer on City Streets, used on public roadways in the United States under driver supervision
• 2026-10-20: Fields: mandate principal: source ids. Found in the editor's source re-check of 19-20 october 2026: the pe24031 opening resume names tesla as manufacturer but does not say drivers supervise; the ea26002-01 letter calls the system a "'full self-driving'-supervised partial automation system" and describes tesla's website footnote as stating that 'active supervision is required'.
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  Before: ["PE24031"]

  After: ["PE24031", "EA26002"]
• 2026-10-20: Context: actor type. Found in the editor's source re-check of 19-20 october 2026: the pe24031 opening resume and the ea26002 records cover 'fsd-beta or fsd-supervised (collectively, fsd)'.
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  Before: Physical: Tesla vehicles running FSD (Supervised)

  After: Physical: Tesla vehicles running Full Self-Driving (FSD Beta or FSD (Supervised))
• 2026-10-20: Context: domain. Found in the editor's source re-check of 19-20 october 2026: 'level 2' appears in neither cited record; the pe24031 opening resume calls fsd 'a system labeled by tesla as a partial driving automation system'. camera-only sensing is now sourced to the ea26002 opening resume: fsd 'relies exclusively on vision-based cameras'.
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  Before: Driver-assistance automation (Level 2, camera-only sensing)

  After: Driver-assistance automation (partial driving automation, camera-only sensing)
• 2026-10-20: Title. Found in the editor's source re-check of 19-20 october 2026: the pe24031 opening resume covers crashes 'with fsd-beta or fsd-supervised (collectively, fsd) engaged'; naming only fsd (supervised) narrowed the product under investigation.
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  Before: NHTSA opens an investigation into Tesla Full Self-Driving (Supervised) after crashes in reduced visibility, including a fatal pedestrian strike, October 2024

  After: NHTSA opens an investigation into Tesla Full Self-Driving after crashes in reduced visibility, including a fatal pedestrian strike, October 2024
• 2026-10-20: Sources: ea26002: title. Found in the editor's source re-check of 19-20 october 2026: the document at this link is the 2 july 2026 letter headed 'subject: information request id ea26002-01', signed by the director of the office of defects investigation; it is not the upgrade document. the upgrade is recorded in the pe24031 closing resume and the ea26002 opening resume, both dated 18 march 2026.
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  Before: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation, EA26002 information request: Full Self-Driving in reduced visibility (upgrade from PE24031), 2026

  After: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation, letter to Tesla, Inc., 'Information Request ID EA26002-01' (Engineering Analysis EA26002), 2 July 2026
• 2026-10-20: Sources: pe24031: title. Found in the editor's source re-check of 19-20 october 2026: the opening resume's subject line reads 'fsd collisions in reduced roadway visibility conditions'; the title paraphrased it. source re-opened and checked date updated.
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  Before: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation, ODI Resume PE24031 (opening): Full Self-Driving collisions in reduced roadway visibility conditions

  After: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation, ODI Resume PE24031 (opening), subject 'FSD Collisions in Reduced Roadway Visibility Conditions'
• 2026-10-16: Controls: c-i3: confidence. Found in an outside review of the published record on 16 october 2026: the federal investigation is open, so the failure is not established at high confidence.
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  Before: high

  After: medium
• 2026-10-13: Fields. Independent check against the linked records before right-of-reply letters.
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  Before: objective cited to the opening resume; inference said 'camera-only system'

  After: objective from the engineering-analysis request; inference no longer asserts the sensor suite, which the cited records do not state
• 2026-10-13: Fields and sources. Claims aligned to what each linked record says, found on review.
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  Before: pedestrian fatality located 'Arizona, November 2023'; 'the system relies on cameras' cited to the resume; 'preliminary evaluation opened; outcome pending'

  After: location removed (not in the resume); camera claim removed from the inputs (not in the resume); upgrade to EA26002 recorded