![\"Tesla](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Tesla-Full-Self-Driving-Beta-10.69-barrier.jpg\")
<\/p>\n\t<\/p>\n
NHTSA has escalated its investigation into Tesla\u2019s \u201cFull Self-Driving\u201d system\u2019s inability to handle reduced visibility conditions, upgrading the probe to an Engineering Analysis covering an estimated 3,203,754 vehicles \u2014 the step that typically precedes a recall.<\/p>\n
The agency found that FSD\u2019s degradation detection system fails to warn drivers when cameras are blinded by common road conditions like sun glare and fog, and that Tesla may be under-reporting related crashes.<\/p>\n
Third concurrent FSD investigation<\/p>\n
The new Engineering Analysis (EA26002), opened yesterday<\/a>, upgrades the preliminary evaluation (PE24031) that NHTSA launched in October 2024 after identifying four crashes in reduced visibility conditions, including one that fatally struck a pedestrian<\/a>.<\/p>\n The scope has since expanded to nine total incidents with one fatality and one injury. And NHTSA is now examining six additional potentially related incidents on top of those.<\/p>\n \tAdvertisement – scroll for more content<\/p>\n This makes it the third concurrent federal investigation into FSD. NHTSA is already running a separate probe (PE25012) into 58 incidents involving traffic violations<\/a> like running red lights and crossing into opposing lanes, plus a separate inquiry into Tesla\u2019s crash reporting practices<\/a>.<\/p>\n The upgrade from a Preliminary Evaluation to an Engineering Analysis is significant. NHTSA typically completes an EA within 18 months, and this phase involves deeper technical testing, additional information requests, and peer manufacturer comparisons. Historically, an EA is the final investigative step before the agency either closes a case or pushes for a recall.<\/p>\n The core problem: FSD can\u2019t tell when it\u2019s blind<\/p>\n The central finding is damning for Tesla\u2019s camera-only approach to autonomous driving. According to NHTSA, FSD\u2019s degradation detection system \u2014 the software designed to recognize when cameras can\u2019t see properly and alert the driver \u2014 fails under common roadway conditions.<\/p>\n NHTSA states that in the crashes it reviewed, the system \u201cdid not detect common roadway conditions that impaired camera visibility and\/or provide alerts when camera performance had deteriorated until immediately before the crash occurred.\u201d<\/p>\n Worse, the vehicles either lost track of or completely missed other cars directly ahead of them before impact. The system essentially went blind and didn\u2019t know it \u2014 or told the driver too late to do anything about it.<\/p>\n The conditions involved are not exotic edge cases. We\u2019re talking about sun glare, fog, and airborne dust \u2014 things any driver encounters regularly. Tesla\u2019s system relies exclusively on cameras after the company removed radar in mid-2021<\/a> against the advice of its own engineers who warned that cameras alone would be vulnerable to environmental interference<\/a>.<\/p>\n Tesla only started fixing the problem after reporting a fatal crash<\/p>\n One of the most revealing details in the NHTSA document is the timeline of Tesla\u2019s response. A fatal crash involving FSD and reduced visibility occurred on November 28, 2023. Tesla submitted the required Standing General Order (SGO) report for that crash on June 27, 2024 \u2014 already seven months later.<\/p>\n The very next day, June 28, 2024, Tesla began developing an update to the degradation detection system. NHTSA notes that it still does not know when that update was actually deployed or which vehicles have received it.<\/p>\n When NHTSA discussed the incidents with Tesla during the preliminary evaluation phase, Tesla\u2019s own analysis conceded that its updated degradation detection system, had it been installed at the time, \u201cmay have affected\u201d only 3 of the 9 identified crashes. That means even Tesla acknowledges its fix wouldn\u2019t have helped in the majority of incidents.<\/p>\n Under-reporting concerns<\/p>\n NHTSA also flagged a concerning data gap. Tesla told the agency that internal \u201cdata and labeling limitations\u201d prevented it from uniformly identifying and analyzing crashes that occurred while the degradation detection system was engaged.<\/p>\n NHTSA believes this limitation \u201ccould have led to under-reporting of subject crashes over portions of the defined time-period.\u201d This echoes the separate investigation into Tesla\u2019s crash reporting practices<\/a> and the ongoing struggle to get Tesla to turn over FSD traffic violation data<\/a>, where the company has received multiple deadline extensions.<\/p>\n The pattern is consistent: NHTSA keeps finding that Tesla either can\u2019t or won\u2019t provide clear data about FSD-related crashes.<\/p>\n Electrek\u2019s Take<\/p>\n This investigation escalation is the most significant regulatory threat to Tesla\u2019s \u201cFull Self-Driving\u201d deployment we\u2019ve seen, and it cuts to the heart of a problem we\u2019ve been flagging for years: a camera-only system has inherent vulnerability to visibility degradation, and Tesla\u2019s software doesn\u2019t adequately compensate for it.<\/p>\n What makes this particularly concerning is a failure mode that doesn\u2019t get enough attention \u2014 camera fogging inside the housing. Tesla\u2019s cameras can develop condensation between the lens and the outer cover, particularly in cold weather or humid conditions, and the system sometimes doesn\u2019t detect it. When that happens, FSD continues operating with impaired vision and the driver has no idea unless they are looking directly at the camera feeds. That\u2019s exactly the type of \u201cdegraded state\u201d NHTSA is investigating, and it\u2019s a hardware design issue that no software update can fully solve.<\/p>\n The broader picture is even worse for Tesla. We now have three concurrent NHTSA investigations into FSD, covering visibility failures, traffic violations, and crash reporting gaps. Tesla is simultaneously fighting to hand over data<\/a> in one probe while this new one escalates. And all of this unfolds while Tesla continues to expand FSD\u2019s availability and CEO Elon Musk continues to promise unsupervised \u201cFull Self-Driving\u201d is imminent.<\/p>\n The gap between Tesla\u2019s autonomous driving claims and the regulatory reality has never been wider. An Engineering Analysis covering 3.2 million vehicles, with a fatal crash in the record and evidence of systemic visibility detection failures, is exactly the kind of probe that ends in a recall. Tesla needs to take this seriously \u2014 and so do the drivers relying on a system that can\u2019t tell when it\u2019s blind.<\/p>\n
![\"Add](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/1757146812_177_google-preferred-source-badge-dark.png\"){kind=icon}
![\"Add](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/1757146813_389_google-preferred-source-badge-light.png\"){kind=icon}