Tesla crash victims’ families worried about Musk’s influence over investigations

Families of Tesla clang victims are disquieted that Musk’s power successful the Trump medication volition weaken oversight of autonomous vehicles. | Image: Getty

Family members of radical who died successful Tesla crashes are urging the US Department of Transportation not to scrap a Biden-era regularisation requiring companies to study crashes that impact afloat oregon partially autonomous vehicles. They besides accidental they are disquieted that Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s power successful the Trump medication whitethorn pb the section to weaken oversight of his company. 

In a missive to Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, 7 families accidental they are “deeply concerned” that the national authorities would h2o down oversight of operator assistance exertion similar Tesla’s Autopilot. 

“We fearfulness this important measurement is nether menace fixed caller media reports and the power of Tesla CEO Elon Musk, whose institution operates the astir wide utilized Level 2 ADAS systems successful America,” the letter, which was archetypal reported by Politico, reads.

Their fears aren’t unwarranted. Before the inauguration, Reuters reported that Trump’s modulation squad was discussing eliminating a lasting wide order issued nether Biden requiring automakers and tech companies to study crashes involving autonomous vehicles arsenic good arsenic Level 2 driver-assist systems. Scrapping the regularisation would greatly payment Tesla, which to date, has reported the astir fig of crashes.

Tesla Victims Letter to Secretary of Transportatio by ahawkins8223 connected Scribd

In urging him not to destruct the rule, the household members entreaty to Duffy’s ain acquisition with vehicular violence, referencing the head-on collision that astir killed his wife, Rachel. 

“Just arsenic your household has experienced the life-shattering consequences of a preventable centrifugal conveyance collision, we’ve had our ain devastating experiences, each of which were caused by Tesla’s autonomous driving exertion being released onto the roadways without the indispensable safeguards,” they write.

Tesla’s Autopilot and Full Self-Driving features, which are considered Level 2 systems that necessitate drivers to wage attention, are some covered nether the rule. Since it was implemented, Tesla has reported implicit 1,800 crashes to the national government. An investigation of the clang information shows Tesla accounted for 40 retired of 45 fatal crashes reported to NHTSA done October 2024.

The families enactment that the information reporting regularisation has led to important regulatory decisions, similar the December 2023 callback of implicit 2 cardinal Tesla vehicles equipped with Autopilot. The callback wasn’t a carnal recall, but alternatively an over-the-air bundle update meant to code issues astir driver inattention and Tesla’s informing systems, which NHTSA said has contributed to hundreds of crashes and dozens of deaths. NHTSA aboriginal launched a probe into whether Tesla’s bundle hole was capable to code the defect. 

The families impulse Duffy to support the regularisation successful spot and guarantee “active investigations into Tesla Autopilot and Full Self-Driving proceed escaped from improper influence.”

During his confirmation hearing, Duffy was asked by Senate Democrats whether helium would let safety investigations into Tesla’s precocious driving technology to proceed, fixed Musk’s presumption arsenic a large donor and peculiar advisor to Trump. Duffy said helium would “commit… that I volition fto NHTSA bash their investigation.”