Tesla Claims FSD 10x Safer Than Humans, US Senators Demand Proof
Tesla has for years claimed its Full Self-Driving (FSD) driver assistance system is safer than human drivers. However, a recent report has cast doubt on these assertions, prompting two US senators to request a deeper investigation by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).
Elon Musk and other Tesla executives have repeatedly stated that FSD is up to 10 times safer than a human driver. The report found that Tesla arrived at this figure by comparing crashes involving FSD-equipped vehicles that resulted in airbag deployment against the overall accident rate in the United States for all vehicles, including minor collisions that did not trigger airbags. A second issue with the calculation is that Tesla compared its vehicles against the average US vehicle, which is significantly older than a typical Tesla.
Democratic Senators Edward Markey of Massachusetts and Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut have now sent a letter to NHTSA seeking answers to several questions. These include whether NHTSA has ever evaluated Tesla’s FSD safety claims or requested the crash data underpinning them. The senators also urged NHTSA to tighten reporting requirements for companies using advanced driver assistance systems and autonomous vehicle technology like Tesla’s.
Questions are also being raised about Tesla’s claims in Europe. Evidence of the system’s limitations recently emerged when Waymo recalled thousands of robotaxis after discovering a software issue that could cause vehicles to enter construction zones or strike temporary traffic control devices. Despite this, the system recently gained approval from Dutch regulator RDW, which is now seeking EU-level approval on Tesla’s behalf. Shortly after the Dutch approval, Tesla Policy Manager Ivan Komusanac reportedly emailed Swedish regulators to request FSD approval, stating the system could potentially save 32,000 lives and prevent 1.9 million injuries. It later emerged that these figures were based on US data, assuming all vehicles in the country were replaced by FSD-equipped Teslas. The Swedish Transport Agency said it would scrutinise the figures further to determine if the system is safe enough for approval.