The Transportation Department has announced new rule changes that could allow Tesla to report fewer crashes involving its self-driving cars, a move that benefits the company by making it appear as if it has a cleaner safety record. The old reporting rules required automakers to report non-fatal crashes, including those involving partial self-driving vehicles like Tesla’s Level 2 systems.
Under the new rule, only crashes that require a tow truck and result in death or injury will be reported. However, if a crash requires towing but does not meet these conditions, it will no longer need to be reported. This exception applies specifically to Level 2 systems, which are used by Tesla.
Analysts say that this change could make it more difficult for regulators to catch equipment defects and for the public to access information about a company’s overall safety record. However, Tesla is expected to benefit from the rule changes as they will allow the company to trumpet a cleaner record when selling its cars.
Tesla stock soared nearly 10% on Friday following the announcement of the new rules. The change comes as Tesla prepares to roll out self-driving taxis in Austin, Texas, and could be seen as an advantage for the company in the competition for self-driving technology.
Source: https://apnews.com/article/self-driving-autonomous-vehicles-duffy-transportation-new-rules-b7f03d1e23b68256a051cef490aead3b