Tesla’s Full Self-Driving system is facing more pressure than usual. A fatal crash in Texas — where a Tesla struck a home and killed a 76-year-old woman — has drawn national attention and triggered federal investigations.
The driver told police Autopilot was engaged. Tesla’s VP of AI software Ashok Elluswamy pushed back, claiming the driver manually floored the accelerator to 100% in a residential area. The company says the vehicle was running FSD (Supervised), not the discontinued Autopilot system. Without an independent investigation, the truth remains unclear.
Both NHTSA and NTSB have opened probes. Meanwhile, Tesla settled a separate lawsuit connected to a fatal 2023 crash involving FSD. That case ties into an ongoing NHTSA investigation into whether FSD can handle reduced visibility conditions like sun glare, fog, or dust.
All of this lands while Tesla is trying to position itself as an AI and robotics company. FSD is the most visible product tied to that narrative. The scrutiny isn’t going away soon.
In other autonomous driving news, Waymo is ramping up imports of its Zeekr-built Ojai robotaxis — on pace for over 3,100 vehicles this year. Aseon Labs raised $10 million to build autonomous pit stops for robotaxis. And Elroy Air plans to go public via a $1 billion SPAC merger.
