Jennifer Homendy (chair of the National Transportation Safety Board) told the Wall Street Journal that Tesla needs to address safety concerns before it expands its so-called full-self-driving mode (FSD).
Elon Musk, Tesla CEO, stated earlier this month that FSD would be released to a wider audience by September. This would allow more Tesla customers to access the beta button. According to the WSJ, the company is planning to upgrade the software, which was originally designed for driving on highways, to allow the cars to be driven on city streets.
Homendy was critical of Tesla's use the term full self driving, calling it misleading and irresponsible. She also stated that Tesla had clearly misled many people to misuse and abuse technology.
PlainSite, a legal transparency group, has obtained documents that Tesla's director of Autopilot software told the California Department of Motor Vehicles in May that Musk exaggerated the capabilities of its advanced driver assistance system. This was a precursor of FSD.
NTSB determined that Tesla's Autopilot driver assistance system was a possible cause of a fatal 2018 collision in February 2020. It stated that the driver was using Autopilot while playing a mobile game and was too confident in Autopilot's capabilities.
NTSB claims Tesla failed to follow its 2017 safety recommendations regarding Autopilot. The agency advised Tesla and five other automakers to add safeguards to advanced driver assist systems to make it more difficult for misuse. The agency also suggested that automakers restrict the use of such driver assistance systems. Tesla was the only automaker to not respond to the NTSB's recommendations. However, it did increase the frequency for alerts if a driver uses Autopilot and takes their hands from the wheel.
Tesla didn't respond to an email asking for comment on Sunday. The company has dissolved its media office and rarely responds to media inquiries.
