U.S. Investigates Tesla's 'Smart Call' Accident...The grand prize of 2.6 million units.

The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has launched a preliminary survey of 2.6 million Tesla vehicles equipped with smart calling and ASS autonomous driving functions.

According to Reuters and CNN on the 7th, the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration announced that it will begin a preliminary evaluation of Tesla's ASS function after receiving four reports of crashes.

The U.S. Highway Traffic Safety Administration said there were reports that vehicles did not detect poles or parked vehicles when using the ASS feature, and that users had little time to avoid collisions.

Tesla's ASS feature was launched in September last year with the ability to move the driver to the desired location through a smartphone application even if he or she is not in the vehicle.

The vehicles surveyed are Model S and X vehicles from 2016 to 2025 with advanced driving assistance software, FSD, and Model Y vehicles from 2020 to 2025 with Model 3 and a fully autonomous driver support system from 2017 to 2025.

The U.S. Highway Traffic Safety Administration explained that a Tesla Model 3 vehicle collided with another parked vehicle during a smart call in Houston in 2023, and in September last year, a Model Y vehicle suddenly turned left and collided with a parked vehicle in Henderson, Nevada.

The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration also began a preliminary investigation into pedestrian deaths during Tesla's FSD operation in October last year.

Tesla also recalled 2 million vehicles in December 2023 to fix a flaw in its self-driving aid called Autopilot.

Reuters and CNN highlighted that Tesla Inc TSLA CEO Elon Musk has been critical of the Road Traffic Safety Administration's actions so far, noting that the announcement came ahead of the launch of a second Donald Trump administration involving Musk.