Federal investigators are seeking detailed information from Tesla regarding its planned robotaxi service as part of an ongoing probe into the automaker’s autonomous driving technology. The inquiry was triggered by concerns over the operation of Tesla’s “Full Self-Driving (Supervised)” (FSD) system, particularly in conditions of reduced visibility such as fog, heavy rain, glare, or airborne dust.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s (NHTSA) Office of Defects Investigation recently reached out to Tesla requesting specifics about their automation technologies, fleet size, and vehicle models intended for the forthcoming robotaxi initiative. Investigators also asked Tesla to clarify if there were direct links between the automation technology used in its supervised FSD product, currently under scrutiny by regulators, and the upcoming fully automated robotaxis.
Tesla announced earlier this year that it would debut a paid robotaxi rideshare service in June, initially operating a company-owned fleet in Austin, Texas. Following Tesla’s April announcement on X—which detailed an ongoing internal test of the FSD Supervised system involving more than 1,500 trips and 15,000 miles driven—regulators intensified their attention.
NHTSA’s investigation had originally begun in October, after four separate incidents occurred involving Tesla vehicles using FSD in poor visibility scenarios. Although Tesla’s current version of FSD requires driver supervision, Elon Musk has indicated that the planned robotaxi service would ultimately rely on an unsupervised, fully autonomous version yet to be publicly deployed.
Central to the latest inquiry from NHTSA are questions focused explicitly on Tesla’s methods for ensuring vehicle and passenger safety under suboptimal weather and visibility conditions. The agency is pressing for detailed strategies on how Tesla evaluates safety standards, vehicle performance metrics, and emergency response protocols when visibility is impaired.
This request signals heightened scrutiny by federal authorities on Tesla as it moves forward with ambitious plans for wider automation, emphasizing critical questions about accountability, reliability, and public safety before the deployment of fully automated ride-sharing fleets.
