The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration upgraded its investigation into Tesla's Full Self-Driving system to an Engineering Analysis on March 18, 2026, expanding the review to an estimated 3,203,754 vehicles.
The probe examines whether the FSD degradation detection system fails to recognize conditions that impair camera visibility, including sun glare, fog, and airborne dust. Tesla's FSD relies on a camera-only sensing approach the company markets as Tesla Vision. The expanded scope covers 2016 through 2026 Model S and Model X, 2017 through 2026 Model 3, 2020 through 2026 Model Y, and the Cybertruck.
The agency's Office of Defects Investigation has identified nine incidents in the review. One crash killed a pedestrian and a second caused an injury. Regulators are examining six additional incidents to determine whether they fit the same pattern. In several of the reviewed crashes, the agency said the vehicle lost track of or never detected a lead vehicle in its path.
NHTSA opened the original Preliminary Evaluation, docketed PE24031, on October 17, 2024, covering 2,410,002 vehicles and four crashes. The upgraded matter is docketed EA26002.
Tesla told the agency that its updated visibility detection system would have potentially affected three of the nine identified crashes. NHTSA also said that internal data and labeling limitations at Tesla may prevent the company from uniformly identifying crashes in which the detection feature was engaged, which raises the possibility of under-reporting.
An Engineering Analysis is a deeper technical review stage that can precede a recall. The agency has issued no final defect determination in the matter.
Source: Electrek - https://electrek.co/2026/03/19/nhtsa-upgrades-tesla-fsd-visibility-investigation-3-2-million-vehicles/