US Transportation Authorities Halt Tesla's Expansion of Urban Autonomous Driving

Musk Plans to Expand Urban Driving Assistance... NTSB Chair Says "Basic Safety Issues Come First"
California DMV Investigates Tesla for Possible False Advertising of Autopilot

[Asia Economy International Desk Reporter] The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has put the brakes on Tesla's plan to expand its urban driving assistance features.

On the 19th (local time), according to The Wall Street Journal (WSJ), Jennifer Homendy, the newly appointed chair of the U.S. NTSB, stated that Tesla should not release urban driving assistance features until safety defects are resolved.

[Image source=EPA Yonhap News]

Chair Homendy of the NTSB said, "Tesla must address fundamental safety issues before expanding urban driving assistance features," and criticized the term "Full Self-Driving" as "an irresponsible expression that misleads customers." She added, "By announcing new regulations or performance standards, we can proactively address future accidents and fatalities," urging relevant agencies to take preemptive measures.

Earlier, Tesla CEO Elon Musk had announced that consumers would soon be able to apply for an upgraded version of "Full Self-Driving." Since the second half of last year, Tesla has been providing the urban driving assistance feature only for test drives to about 2,000 customers and employees.

WSJ explained that Tesla's so-called Full Self-Driving mainly involves expanding the driving assistance features previously applied on highways to urban driving.

Local transportation authorities and politicians have also raised safety concerns about Tesla's autonomous driving services. The California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) is investigating whether Tesla violated state law by falsely advertising its vehicles as "autonomous," and Democratic lawmakers have urged the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to investigate Tesla's deceptive marketing practices.

The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is also currently investigating several traffic accidents related to Tesla's autonomous driving assistance feature, "Autopilot."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.