NHTSA asks Tesla to turn over crash data on vehicles with Autopilot

The agency's reason is simple: it wants to ascertain whether the Autopilot mechanism has a safety defect that causes Tesla vehicles to hit emergency vehicles. In its letter to Tesla, the agency said it will "assess the technologies and methods used to monitor, assist, and enforce the driver's engagement with the dynamic driving task during Autopilot operation. The investigation will additionally assess the [object and event detection and response feature] by vehicles when engaged in Autopilot mode, and [operational design domain] in which the Autopilot mode is functional. The investigation will also include examination of the contributing circumstances for the confirmed crashes ... and other similar crashes." While the NHTSA didn't threaten Tesla with the possibility of a recall, it does have that power.