Tesla’s Safety System Under New Scrutiny
USAThu Mar 19 2026
The U. S. safety agency has stepped up its examination of Tesla’s driver‑assistance feature after nine crashes, one fatal, linked to the system.
The review covers about 3. 2 million Teslas sold in America, almost all of the company’s cars on U. S. roads.
If a defect is found, regulators could order a recall or other action.
The focus is on the “degradation detection” tool that should spot when road visibility drops and alert drivers.
Reports show the system sometimes missed glare or other obstacles, both before and after software updates.
Tesla’s own analysis suggests that a recent update might have caused three of the nine incidents, according to the regulator.
In several crashes, the system failed to warn drivers until it was too late.
The agency also found other accidents in similar conditions where the warning came too late or not at all.
These findings raise questions about Tesla’s plans for fully autonomous cars and robotaxis, which rely on this technology.
