tech
March 20, 2026
Tesla Under Investigation for Autonomous Vehicles, Prepares to Sell Cars Without Steering Wheels or Pedals
Federal automotive regulators in the US have intensified their investigation into Tesla after several of its cars crashed while using the autonomous driving feature, and its CEO Elon Musk is preparing to introduce a new model – without a steering wheel and without foot pedals.
TL;DR
- US regulators have intensified their investigation into Tesla due to several crashes involving its autonomous driving feature.
- The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is examining nine accidents where the software reportedly failed to warn drivers to take control.
- The investigation could potentially lead to the recall of 3.2 million Tesla vehicles.
- Tesla's stock fell 3.2% following the news.
- Elon Musk plans to launch a robotaxi service and a new Cybertruck model without steering wheels or pedals.
- Unlike other autonomous vehicles, Tesla's rely solely on cameras, a method Musk favors over lidar.
- The NHTSA's investigation will move to an 'engineering analysis' phase.
- Tesla's 'Full Self-Driving' (FSD) software name has been criticized as misleading; it is now 'Full Self-Driving (Supervised)'.
- Tesla faces other investigations regarding vehicles running red lights and malfunctioning door latches.