In the NHTSA’s Acting Chief Counsel John Donaldson’s email to Tesla Legal Senior Director Dinna Eskin, it says, “Recently, NHTSA became aware that Tesla has introduced an Autopilot configuration that, when enabled, allows drivers using Autopilot to operate their vehicles for extended periods without Autopilot prompting the driver to apply torque to the steering wheel. NHTSA is concerned that this feature was introduced to consumer vehicles and, now that the existence of this feature is known to the public, more drivers may attempt to activate it. The resulting relaxation of controls designed to ensure that the driver remains engaged in the dynamic driving task could lead to greater driver inattention and failure of the driver to properly supervise Autopilot.”
The agency gave Tesla until August 25, 2023, to respond to the email and there’s no evidence that it did. Of note, the consequence of failing to answer the email nets the brand a fine of up to $26,315 per day. That’s quite a light sum, considering the carmaker delivered 466,140 vehicles in the second quarter of 2023 – a 46 percent year-on-year increase thanks to its price cuts months ago.
