NHTSA Questions Elon Musk Over Tweet Suggesting Tesla Might Remove Key Safety Feature
What Musk and some Tesla-owning Twitter users may decry as a "steering wheel nag," NHTSA sees as a critical backup.
It wasn't long ago that we shared a report about police having to chase down a driver sleeping in his Tesla while it was traveling nearly 70 mph. The sleepy pilot's, er, actual "pilot" was Tesla Autopilot—which, though its name implies full autonomy, is really only a combination of adaptive cruise control and a self-steering lane-keep assist. Oh, and the reckless driver also allegedly fitted a device designed to circumvent Tesla's automated reminder that ensures drivers keep their hands on or near the wheel while Autopilot is active; the system requires the driver to touch the steering wheel regularly to prove they are engaged and ready to take control in an emergency. Not only is that a very important safety feature, it is also one of the reasons why Tesla Autopilot and FSD (Full Self Driving) beta software isnotclassified as level 5 autonomous (or anywhere close) by the current SAE standard.
However, according to a tweet from Elon Musk, that little detail might change sometime in the near future. On New Year's Eve 2022, user WholeMarsBlog tweeted to Elon Musk declaring that "users with more than 10,000 miles on FSD Beta should be given the option to turn off the steering wheel nag." To which Musk responded, "Agreed, update coming in Jan."
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Translating that from Tesla-nerd-speak to English, the tweeter was hoping that Full Self Driving—Tesla's also-not-fully-autonomous driver assist system—could be used without needing to occasionally check in with the vehicle and, you know, prove the driver is even paying attention. That "steering wheel nag" the user was referring to is the safety feature ensuring drivers remain engaged even when FSD is active. Removing that feature could mean that the driver would have the option to be completely hands free—and off in their own headspace, or asleep, or, heck, someplace else in the car than the driver's seat—whenever Full Self Driving (FSD) is engaged.
According to aReutersreport, Musk's tweet isn't simply kind of a bad idea—particularly given the apparent limitations to Tesla's technology—it raised the eyebrow of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). In a statement, NHTSA said it "is in contact with Tesla to gather additional information." The safety agency also confirmed to Reuters that its contact with Musk over his tweet is connected to its ongoing investigation of 830,000 Tesla vehicles with Autopilot and incidents of crashes into emergency vehicles. Considering all of that, it should come as no surprise that Musk publicly stating that he intends to release an update that gives drivers using beta software the ability to turn off a feature meant to keep driver's attention on the road has captured NHTSA's attention.
At the moment it isn't clear how Musk's tweet will impact the current investigation or if he will change course but we will update the story as it develops. But one thing's for sure: Teslas can't drive themselves, leaving their operators as the first line of defense against wayward decisions and potentially accident-causing moves. Taking away the safety feature designed to keep those drivers engaged, regardless of how that factors into ongoing safety investigations into Tesla, seems like an obviously bad idea.
Andrew Beckford’s passion for cars started as a middle schooler when his friend Richie explained how an internal combustion engine works. He was bitten by the bug and the rest, as they say, is history. He dug deep into the tuner scene and eventually wrote for Turbo Magazine, Import Tuner, Super Street. He covered car shows, feature builds, and reviewed racing games for those magazines in addition to covering motorsports including Formula Drift, Indy Car, and F1 for his personal blog. Eventually Beckford joined MotorTrend to cover the daily automotive news beat. Besides being a gearhead, Beckford has been a gamer since the ’80s and is a huge fan of the arcade racing games of the ’90s like Daytona USA, SEGA Rally, and Ridge Racer. Beckford’s a movie buff as well, especially comic book films from DC and Marvel. When car culture crosses over with gaming and entertainment, rest assured Beckford is aware of it. In addition to serving as a consultant on a “triple A” racing titles, he’s reviewed major racing games such as Forza Motorsport, Need for Speed, Gran Turismo, F1, and more. He’s also interviewed blockbuster directors including Steven Caple Jr. (Transformers: Rise of the Beasts) and Neill Blomkamp (Gran Turismo). His biggest profile to date was with Robert Downey Jr. on his love affair with cars and his show Downey’s Dream Cars on MAX. Beckford’s profile of Downey Jr. was the first print cover story written by an African American in MotorTrend’s history. Along with KJ Jones, Andrew Beckford also heads up MotorTrend’s celebration of Black History Month by spotlighting diverse voices in the automotive industry and motorsports. Beckford’s first car was a 1982 Nissan Stanza affectionately named “Stanley” by his late mother.
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