NTSB Chief Says Tesla Should Focus On 'Basic Safety Issues'

This comes as Tesla plans to expand its FSD Beta tech amid an investigation by NHTSA.

By: Steven Loveday

Sep 20, 2021 at 9:44am ET

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According to a recent report from Autoblog, among several other publications, National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) chief Jennifer Homendy said Tesla should pause from rolling its Full Self-Driving (FSD) Beta technology to a wider audience while it looks much more closely at the issues related to the advanced driver-assist systems it has already released.

More specifically, Homendy was quoted as saying:

"Basic safety issues have to be addressed before they’re then expanding it to other city streets and other areas."

Clearly, Homendy is talking about the fact that multiple Tesla vehicles have crashed into parked emergency vehicles, and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has launched a full investigation to figure out why. Of course, the NTSB could also be referring to several other crashes that have occurred in Tesla vehicles, during which Tesla Autopilot may or may not have been activated.

To be clear, Homendy's biggest beef is with the way Tesla has chosen to name its tech, as well as how it "advertises" it. She calls it "misleading and irresponsible" and says that Tesla "has clearly misled numerous people to misuse and abuse technology." Homendy is referring to the Tesla "Autopilot" name, as well as the brand's "Full Self-Driving" claims.

In short, Tesla has been selling the FSD package for some time, and it now costs $10,000, though you can also opt for an expensive month-to-month subscription. However, the majority of people who paid for the tech still can't access it.

For those who can use it, they need to be very careful and remain in control of the car since it can't actually drive itself in all situations. Tesla plans to roll the tech out to many more owners soon, though NHTSA's investigation is ongoing, and a Tesla vehicle recently struck another parked police car.

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Sadly, no one at InsideEVs is currently an FSD Beta tester, though a few of our staff have experienced the technology. In fact, Tom Moloughney got to ride in a Tesla with FSD Beta V10.0 recently. Watch the video below for his impressions.