Tesla was required to disclose more Autopilot data before July, otherwise it would be fined up to $135.8 million

On May 8, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is putting pressure on Tesla, requiring the company to provide the regulator with detailed information about Autopilot before July 1, otherwise it will face a fine of up to US$135.8 million (currently about RMB 979 million).

According to reports in December last year, Tesla announced the recall of 2,031,220 vehicles equipped with assisted driving software due to safety risks in the autopilot function. Tesla plans to solve this problem through OTA updates.

NHTSA public documents show that after a three-year investigation, it was found that from January 2018 to August 2023, Tesla Autopilot's safety issues caused at least 467 collisions and 14 deaths.

NHTSA concluded that the drivers involved in those accidents "were not adequately focused on the driving task, and the warnings provided by Autopilot when the automated driving feature was engaged did not adequately ensure that the driver was focusing on the driving task."

NHTSA has continued to request detailed crash data from Tesla after the company issued its Autopilot recall update, including data and videos stored in or transmitted from the car and retained by the company.

NHTSA also asked Tesla to provide records of its engineering teams and its "safety defect determination decisions," "issue investigations," "action designs including human factors considerations (initial and revised)" and "testing" methods.

Tesla is in the midst of a massive restructuring and mass layoffs. The company has not disclosed how many people may be laid off from its Autopilot and vehicle safety engineering teams.