US Lawmaker Presses NHTSA on Tesla Autopilot Misuse After Videos Show Sleeping Drivers
Representative Raja Krishnamoorthi urged US regulators to address documented misuse of Tesla's Autopilot and Full Self-Driving systems, citing an NBC News report identifying 43 videos of drivers appearing asleep or disengaged while using the systems. The letter highlighted concerns about inadequate safeguards and the apparent ease of defeating driver-monitoring systems.
What happened
On September 9, 2026, Representative Raja Krishnamoorthi of Illinois sent a letter to US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy calling on the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to address documented misuse of Tesla's Autopilot and Full Self-Driving systems.
An NBC News investigation identified 43 videos showing drivers appearing asleep or disengaged in moving Teslas, including 17 posted in 2026. The letter highlighted concerns that drivers can easily defeat monitoring safeguards, such as by draping objects over the cabin camera or wearing sunglasses to interfere with eye-tracking detection.
Reported impact
The lawmaker argued that Tesla's systems encourage dangerous reliance despite requiring continuous driver attention. Tesla's own systems display a "Drowsiness detected" message that Krishnamoorthi contended appears to encourage continued use precisely when the vehicle has detected driver impairment.
Index analysis
NHTSA has been investigating 3.2 million Tesla vehicles equipped with Full Self-Driving since March 2026 as an engineering analysis, the final phase before ordering a recall or closing a case. An earlier NHTSA investigation identified nine incidents in reduced-visibility conditions, including one fatality and one injury.
Governance controls
Krishnamoorthi requested that NHTSA explain what safeguards are in place to prevent foreseeable misuse, how effective the cabin camera monitoring is, and what findings would trigger a recall. In 2023, Tesla recalled approximately 2 million vehicles to better ensure drivers maintain attention when using Autopilot.
Classification
Sources and evidence
This record was researched and written by the Index, based on the following original reporting.