The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has expressed its concern over the lack of response from Tesla over the safety recommendations it gave for Tesla's Autopilot four years ago.
A letter has already been sent to Elon Musk, Tesla's CEO, from NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy. In the letter, Homendy invited Musk to complete action in regards to the safety recommendation given to Tesla.
It should be noted, however, that the NTSB is not a regulatory agency of the government and cannot, therefore, force Tesla to do anything regarding its safety recommendations.
NTSB Expresses Concern Over Tesla's Lack of Action
The NTSB has expressed its concern over Tesla's inaction regarding safety recommendations it gave four years ago for the company's driver-assist feature called Autopilot.
A letter to Tesla CEO Elon Musk has been released by NTSB, which states that "Tesla's failure to respond has led to additional crashes and further safety lapses, according to a report by The Verge.
NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy has lamented in the letter about the release of Tesla's Full Self-Driving beta software update. The update actually enables owners to use a more advanced version of Tesla's driver-assist feature.
"If you are serious about putting safety front and center in Tesla vehicle design, I invite you to complete action on the safety recommendations we issued four years ago," Homendy tells Musk in the letter.
Related Article: Tesla Autonomous Driving Not Safe? NTSB Head Says It Needs to Improve on Basic Safety Features for its FSD
NTSB's Safety Recommendations From 2017
The NTSB's safety recommendations issued four years ago suggested the installation of "driver monitoring systems in their vehicles to ensure that drivers stay vigilant even when active safety systems are engaged."
The NTSB also recommended that the use of driver-assist features should be limited when vehicles are on highways. The recommendations were made after a Tesla owner died when his car hit a truck that year.
The safety recommendations were given to Tesla and five other automakers. However, The Verge report points out that everyone except Tesla officially responded to these recommendations within the given 90-day window.
As of press time, Tesla has yet to officially respond to the recommendations made by the NTSB. As the NTSB is not a government regulatory agency, it cannot force Tesla to act on its safety recommendations for the Autopilot feature.
Accidents Involving Tesla's Autopilot
Tesla's Autopilot driver-assist feature has been involved in a couple of vehicular accidents in the last few years.
It was reported back in April that a Q1 safety report mentions that Tesla's Autopilot feature had been in use when two men died in a car accident in Texas. A previous Tech Times report from September mentions that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) was investigating 12 accidents involving the Autopilot feature.
This article is owned by Tech Times
Written by Isabella James
