Products Liability Law Daily Wrap Up, NHTSA NEWS—MOTOR VEHICLE EQUIPMENT—Probe of Tesla’s Full Self-Driving system upgraded to engineering analysis, (Mar 20, 2026)

By WK Editorial Staff

The investigation will focus on the system’s ability to detect roadway conditions when visibility is reduced and to provide prompt warnings to the driver.

NHTSA’s Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) has opened an engineering analysis into whether Tesla’s Full Self-Driving (FSD) system properly detects and warns drivers of a degraded state due to reduced visibility. The probe, which follows a preliminary evaluation, focuses on how the company’s camera based driver assistance technology performs when encountering glare, airborne particles, or other conditions that impair camera function. The investigation covers an estimated 3.2 million Tesla vehicles across multiple model years, including the Model S, Model X, Model 3, Model Y, and the Cybertruck equipped with FSD (NHTSA ODI Investigation, No. EA26002 (Mar. 18, 2026)).

The investigation aims to assess the ability of Tesla’s degradation detection system to recognize when camera visibility has been compromised and to provide drivers sufficient warning. The agency reported nine total incidents involving crashes or fires associated with visibility related FSD performance, including one fatality and one injury. In each reviewed case, investigators found that the system either failed to detect a degraded state in time or did not issue alerts that would have allowed drivers to intervene. FSD also failed to detect or maintain tracking of lead vehicles in several of these incidents.

The analysis will include a review of Tesla’s software updates related to visibility degradation detection. The company began developing an update on June 28, 2024, one day after submitting a Standing General Order crash report on a November 2023 fatal incident. ODI said it does not yet know when the update was deployed or which vehicles received it. Tesla’s own post incident analyses indicated the update might have affected three of nine crashes identified by investigators. The agency also noted that Tesla cited internal data and labeling limitations that may have hindered consistent identification of crashes involving FSD visibility issues, potentially contributing to underreporting.

As part of the expanded engineering analysis, ODI will collect additional information on how Tesla’s updated system detects reduced visibility, the scope of vehicle compatibility, and the nature and timing of driver alerts.

Companies: Tesla, Inc.

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