Tesla FSD Investigation Into Pedestrian Deaths...Completely self-driving disruption?

Transportation authorities have recently launched a new investigation into the safety of Tesla's fully autonomous driving system, FSD, which has been involved in a series of pedestrian deaths in the United States.

The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said in a filing on its website that it has opened a preliminary investigation into pedestrian deaths that occurred during Tesla's FSD operation.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said it will investigate Tesla Model 3, Y, S and X, which include the option to equip FSD, with an estimated total of 2.41 million vehicles covered.

It also reported that four traffic accidents caused by FSD-operated vehicles were reported in conditions where the sunlight was too strong to the point of blinding or the road was difficult to see due to fog and dust.

Tesla has developed FSD with the goal of fully autonomous driving and has been constantly updating it since it launched it in 2021, but it is still at Level 2, which requires constant driver intervention.

Bloomberg pointed out that the investigation by the transportation authority could hamper CEO Elon Musk's efforts to position himself as a leader in autonomous driving.

Earlier, Musk said he plans to launch FSD without driver supervision in Texas and California next year.

Tesla also said on its X account early last month that it plans to "launch FSD in Europe and China in the first quarter of next year," adding that it "depends on the approval of regulators."