The investigation by the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) follows 11 crashes, in which a total of 17 people were injured and one killed, and potentially affects 765,000 cars. The noticed issued by the NHTSA covers virtually every Tesla sold in the US from 2014 onwards. The Model Y, Model X, Model S and Model 3 are all included.
The NHTSA says that its Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) has identified 11 crashes involving Tesla cars that occurred when they encountered ‘first responder scenes’, being attended to by emergency services vehicles. The body says that most of the incidents took place after dark, and the crash scenes included control measures such as emergency vehicle lights, illuminated road signage boards and traffic cones.
According to the NHTSA, every Tesla involved in the crash had either its Autopilot or Traffic Aware Cruise Control advanced driver assistance system (ADAS) enabled on the approach to the accident scene. The Tesla cars involved subsequently struck one or more vehicles involved in the first responder scenes.