Photo: Whole Mars Catalog via Youtube
The NHTSA complained to Tesla about its vehicle not receiving the FSD Beta access, despite having the needed hardware and a Safety Score of 99. Thanks to Twitter power, the case got Elon Musk’s attention, who promised to help.
If you saw the words NHTSA and Tesla in the same sentence recently, it probably wasn’t for a good reason. Tesla has been investigated more than once for problems related to its semi-autonomous driving system, inaptly named Full Self-Driving (FSD). Even more recently, safety advocate Ralph Nader urged the NHTSA “to order that the FSD technology be removed in every Tesla.” The “Unsafe at any Speed” author thinks that the FSD should not be allowed “on the same streets where children walk to school.”
Despite this concerted campaign against Tesla and its FSD software, the NHTSA still wants to use the “malfunctioning software” on its vehicles. And judging from the agency’s letter to Tesla headquarters, it wants it badly. Unfortunately, NHTSA people ran into the same issues that regular folks face: cracking the Safety Score and being allowed into the program.
“With over 700 miles of driving this year and a Safety Score of 99 (including a score of 100 for the most recent 107 miles on January 21), we have not received the OTA update to fully enable FSD in our vehicle,” the letter reads. “We request some of your time and expertise to asses our situation and help us understand what additional steps we might need to take.”
As you can see from the Twitter post below, the letter was dated January 2022. Still, it only entered the spotlight now, thanks to Twitter. We don’t know whether the agency has got it working by now or not. Nevertheless, after seeing the post on Twitter, Elon Musk agreed to help with a laconic “ok we’ll turn it on.” With the Full Self-Driving Beta access granted, the NHTSA would have the chance to experience the software firsthand. Who knows, they might like it so much that they wouldn’t want to drive without it.
Despite this concerted campaign against Tesla and its FSD software, the NHTSA still wants to use the “malfunctioning software” on its vehicles. And judging from the agency’s letter to Tesla headquarters, it wants it badly. Unfortunately, NHTSA people ran into the same issues that regular folks face: cracking the Safety Score and being allowed into the program.
“With over 700 miles of driving this year and a Safety Score of 99 (including a score of 100 for the most recent 107 miles on January 21), we have not received the OTA update to fully enable FSD in our vehicle,” the letter reads. “We request some of your time and expertise to asses our situation and help us understand what additional steps we might need to take.”
As you can see from the Twitter post below, the letter was dated January 2022. Still, it only entered the spotlight now, thanks to Twitter. We don’t know whether the agency has got it working by now or not. Nevertheless, after seeing the post on Twitter, Elon Musk agreed to help with a laconic “ok we’ll turn it on.” With the Full Self-Driving Beta access granted, the NHTSA would have the chance to experience the software firsthand. Who knows, they might like it so much that they wouldn’t want to drive without it.
???? ok we’ll turn it on
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 16, 2022
Google News