House Democrat urges US action over sleeping Tesla drivers

Democratic lawmaker Raja Krishnamoorthi has urged the U.S. Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) to take action addressing the misuse of Tesla's Autopilot and Full Self-Driving (FSD) systems. In a letter to Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, Krishnamoorthi cited NBC News reports of 43 videos showing individuals sleeping or disengaged while driving Teslas, with 17 instances occurring in 2023.

He emphasized that the NHTSA must ensure manufacturers implement adequate safeguards to prevent misuse and that drivers do not rely excessively on these systems. Krishnamoorthi questioned whether NHTSA is aware of the growing number of videos showing Tesla drivers apparently asleep or disengaged during Autopilot or FSD operation and if the agency has evaluated Tesla's safeguards under various conditions, such as obstructed cabin cameras or impaired visibility.

In 2023, Tesla recalled approximately 2 million vehicles to ensure drivers remain attentive while using Autopilot. The automaker describes Autopilot as enabling vehicles to steer, accelerate, and brake within their lanes, while FSD can obey traffic signals and change lanes. However, Tesla asserts that both systems require drivers to remain fully attentive with their hands on the wheel.

In March, NHTSA intensified its investigation into 3.2 million Teslas equipped with FSD, concerned about the system's potential to fail in detecting issues or alerting drivers in poor visibility. In October, NHTSA opened a separate probe into 2.9 million Tesla vehicles with FSD over over 50 reports of traffic violations and several crashes, stating that FSD has induced vehicle behavior that violated traffic safety laws.