Tesla asks NHTSA to hide its response to Robotaxi questions

Tesla has requested that NHTSA withhold its response to the numerous questions the regulators had about its recent Robotaxi launch.

As for the agency, it said that it is aware of some disturbing videos in which we can see Tesla’s system making serious mistakes on its first day.

Prior to Tesla’s Robotaxi launch on Sunday, NHTSA had sent Tesla a series of questions about the program, which Tesla was required to answer by June 19th.

The agency wanted a lot more details because it is particularly concerned about the fact that Tesla is using its ‘Supervised Full Self-Driving’ in the Robotaxi service while it is currently under investigation for its involvement in several serious crashes.

Tesla has now responded to NHTSA, but it has requested that the agency keep all its answers confidential.

The automaker has consistently avoided sharing data about its Autopilot and Full Self-Driving programs, particularly crash data.

Automakers and companies developing self-driving and ADAS systems are required to report all crashes related to those systems, but Tesla has been abusing NHTSA’s program to get some of the data reported.

Publications have been trying to obtain the data through the courts, and Tesla has fought the effort, claiming that it would ‘suffer financial harm’ if its self-driving crash data were released.

There’s currently no indication that NHTSA will be able to release any information about Tesla’s Robotaxi service.

As we previously reported, the service launched with a Tesla employee in the front passenger seat with a finger constantly on the door unlactch button, which is likely to have been reprogrammed as a kill switch for the self-driving system.

This is likely information that would be confirmed and detailed in Tesla’s responses to NHTSA, and it would be critical, as it would prove that Tesla’s autonomous driving system can’t be considered level 4, which is now required to operate a commercial autonomous driving system, such as Robotaxi, in Texas.

Robotaxi has already been spotted making several significant mistakes over its first day of commercial operations, including driving in the wrong lane with incoming traffic and dropping passengers in the middle of an intersection.

NHTSA has confirmed that it is aware of those incidents and that it is currently gathering information about the situation:

NHTSA is aware of the referenced incidents and is in contact with the manufacturer to gather additional information. NHTSA will continue to enforce the law on all manufacturers of motor vehicles and equipment, in accordance with the Vehicle Safety Act and our data-driven, risk-based investigative process. Under U.S. law, NHTSA does not pre-approve new technologies or vehicle systems – rather, manufacturers certify that each vehicle meets NHTSA’s rigorous safety standards, and the agency investigates incidents involving potential safety defects. Following an assessment of those reports and other relevant information, NHTSA will take any necessary actions to protect road safety.

The agency has also stated that its investigation into Tesla’s FSD-Supervised/Beta “remains open.”

Electrek’s Take

Tesla CEO Elon Musk is on record saying, “Transparency is the key to trust.” Yet, Tesla has not been anything close to transparent about any of its autonomous driving or ADAS system efforts.

On the contrary, it has gone out of its way to try to hide any level of data consistently.

In fact, Tesla has never released any data about FSD beyond cumulative mileage, which doesn’t indicate the system’s performance. Tesla even mentioned multiple increases in improvements in miles between disengagements without ever sharing actual data.

It’s incredibly disappointing. Elon is a great example of: Do what I say, not what I do.