US Regulator Hits Out At Tesla On Safety

The head of the US National Transportation Safety Board on Monday criticised electric carmaker Tesla's decision to provide new self-driving software to vehicle owners without addressing safety concerns that the agency raised after a series of fatal accidents.

NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy wrote a letter to Tesla chief executive Elon Musk about his decision to let drivers request access to "Full Self-Driving Beta technology" before the carmaker addressed "the very design shortcomings" implicated in fatal crashes in Florida and California involving its Autopilot driver-assistance system. Beta refers to a trial version of a product.

"If you are serious about putting safety front and centre in Tesla vehicle design, I invite you to complete action on the safety recommendations we issued to you four years ago," Homendy wrote.

The Full Self-Driving technology expands on the Autopilot software that helps with vehicle steering, accelerating and braking.

Tesla did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The NTSB previously urged Tesla to add system safeguards to limit the use of automated vehicle-control systems to designated conditions and to develop applications to "more effectively sense the driver's level of engagement." The agency makes safety recommendations and has no regulatory authority.

Tesla has never officially responded to those recommendations.

Also on Monday, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which regulates auto safety, disclosed that Tesla has given the agency a partial response to an information request issued as part of NHTSA's formal safety investigation into the automaker's Autopilot technology. (Reuters)