Benzinga | Sep 16, 2021 06:32AM EDT

Tesla Autopilot Probe Expands As NHTSA Asks Other Automakers For Data

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's (NHTSA) investigation into electric vehicle maker Tesla Inc.'s (NASDAQ:TSLA) Autopilot self-driving system has now been expanded, with the agency seeking data on automated vehicles from a dozen other automakers.

What Happened The NHTSA has sent identical letters to the twelve automakers, including Ford Motor Company (NYSE:F), General Motors Co. (NYSE:GM), Toyota Motor Corp. (NYSE:TM), Honda Motor Co. Ltd. (NYSE:HMC), Bayerische Motoren Werke Aktiengesellschaft (OTC:BMWYY) and Volkswagen AG (OTC:VWAGY), requesting documents relating to vehicles with Level 2 "Advanced Driver Assistance Systems."

The agency is seeking information on comparative Level 2 vehicles equipped with the ability to control both steering and braking or acceleration simultaneously under some circumstances.

See Also: Video: Tesla Begins Full Self-Driving Beta Testing In Canada

Why It Matters: Tesla is currently under investigation by the NHTSA due to the company's Autopilot system having crashed into emergency vehicles at least 11 times.

It was reported in August that the NHTSA may be requesting data from all Tesla vehicles produced from 2014 to 2021.

Tesla's full self-driving software (FSD) is an advanced driver assistance system, while the autopilot is part of all its vehicles. The Palo Alto-based company says its current Autopilot features "require active driver supervision and do not make the vehicle autonomous."

In April, Tesla's vehicle safety report for the first quarter of 2021 showed that the average distance per accident while driving on Autopilot has declined year-over-year. However, Tesla CEO Elon Musk claimed that Tesla with Autopilot engaged was were 10 times less likely to have an accident than the average car.

Price Action Tesla shares closed 1.5% higher in Wednesday's trading at $755.83.

Read Next: Amid Tesla Data Controversy, China Government Develops Machines To Track Data Sent Abroad By Cars

Click here to check out Benzinga's EV Hub for the latest electric vehicles news