In a recent example, Musk told his 74.1 million followers on Twitter that Tesla had to modify the “Boombox” feature — which allowed custom sounds on an external speaker — because of the “fun police.”
NHTSA said the feature could obscure the pedestrian warning system that is mandated on electric vehicles, which are often too quiet to hear.
Last week, NHTSA opened a new investigation into an ongoing issue regarding sudden, unintended “phantom braking” by Tesla’s Autopilot advanced driver-assistance system.
The safety agency’s Office of Defects Investigation said it had received 354 complaints alleging unexpected braking in 2021-2022 Tesla Model 3 and Model Y vehicles.
“The complaints allege that while utilizing the ADAS features, including adaptive cruise control, the vehicle unexpectedly applies its brakes while driving at highway speeds,” NHTSA said in a Wednesday, Feb. 16, notice.
“Complainants report that the rapid deceleration can occur without warning, at random, and often repeatedly in a single drive cycle.”
The agency said an estimated 416,000 Tesla vehicles could be affected.
While Tesla’s lawyer was alleging government interference with Musk’s free-speech rights last week, the controversial CEO was comparing Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to Adolf Hitler with a satirical meme on Twitter.
