NHTSA Targets Tesla's 'Radar Saves Us' Document in FSD Probe
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- NHTSA sent Tesla a 24-part information demand on July 2 requesting an internal document titled "Radar Saves Us," which the agency says is relevant to the camera-only system's failure mode in low-visibility crashes
- The EA26002 Engineering Analysis covers roughly 3.2 million Tesla vehicles that have run FSD in the US and is tied to nine reduced-visibility crashes including one fatality and one injury, always involving sun glare, fog, or airborne dust
- Tesla has until August 12 to respond; failure to answer fully carries civil penalties of up to $27,874 per day, capped near $139 million
- Request No. 12 lists 15 Tesla and Elon Musk marketing statements — including claims FSD "can drive in whiteout conditions" and a "$99/month robotaxi" post — asking Tesla to confirm whether each implies a higher level of capability than the system actually has
- Request No. 14 zeroes in on a 2024 change that switched the "FSD Degraded" alert from red to yellow and removed the audible chime, demanding every study and internal justification for softening the warning
- Elon Musk privately conceded in direct messages published by the author that "vision with high-resolution radar would be better than pure vision," justifying the camera-only switch by claiming no such radar existed at the time
- Tesla removed front-facing radar from its cars in May 2021 and ultrasonic sensors in 2022, rebranding the camera-only approach "Tesla Vision" over reported internal engineer objections that cameras blinded by rain or sun could cause crashes
Why it matters: If the "Radar Saves Us" document shows Tesla internally recognized that radar fusion prevents the exact failure mode behind nine crashes — including a fatality — NHTSA would have evidence Tesla shipped 3.2 million camera-only vehicles while aware of a safety gap. That could push the Engineering Analysis toward a recall, with Tesla facing up to $139 million in civil penalties if it fails to respond fully by August 12.
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