A U.S. congressman is calling for an investigation into the safety of Tesla's Autopilot and Full-Self Driving systems after videos were published showing drivers sleeping behind the wheel.
U.S. Representative Raja Krishnamoorthi, a Democrat from Illinois, said in a letter posted online on Thursday, Sept. 10 that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration should looking into whether Tesla's automated driving technologies are sufficiently monitoring drivers' attentiveness when they are behind the wheel.
"A recent NBC News investigation identified 43 videos that appear to show individuals asleep in the driver’s seat of moving Teslas, including 17 posted this year alone," Krishnamoorthi wrote in a letter to U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean
Duffy. "These incidents are particularly alarming because Autopilot and FSD require active driver supervision and are not autonomous driving systems," the letter continued. "As these technologies become increasingly prevalent on American roads, DOT and NHTSA must ensure that manufacturers have adequate safeguards toprevent foreseeable misuse and that drivers are not encouraged to place dangerous levels of reliance on systemsthat still require their full attention."
The comments come as Tesla is launching its new two-seat Cybercab robotaxi amid plans to greatly expand the service to multiple states. NHTSA has already opened an investigation into the Cybercab a day after the launch.
Are Tesla's cars with Full Self Drive really autonomous vehicles?
Cars equipped with Telsa's Full Self-Drive are generally considered to be capable of Level 2 autonomy, according to the California Learning Resource Network.
"Despite its name, ‘Full Self-Driving,’ Tesla FSD is not a Level 5 autonomous system," the website said in a February 2025 post. "Currently, and as of the time of this writing, it is generally considered to be a Level 2 system with advanced capabilities, verging on Level 3, but not fully meeting its requirements."
Tesla says its the owners manual for its Model 3 cars that are equipped with Full Self-Drive "like other Autopilot features, Full Self-Driving (Supervised) requires a fully attentive driver and will display a series of escalating warnings requiring driver response.
"You must remain attentive and be ready to take over at all times while Full Self-Driving (Supervised) is engaged," the company says in the Model 3 manual. "While Full Self-Driving (Supervised) is engaged, the cabin camera monitors driver attentiveness."
Do regulators agree that Tesla's cars with Full Self-Drive are really autonomous?
NHTSA opened an investigation into Tesla's Full Self-Drive system that was initially launched in October 2024 to look at cases where Tesla's, which had the software engaged, crashed after experiencing reduced roadway visibility conditions. The agency's probe was upgraded to an engineering analysis in March 2026, which is still ongoing. Officials said the escalated probe would allow the agency to dig deeper into the potential problems with Tesla's technology.
NHTSA said it first launched a Full-Self Drive probe after receiving four reports of such crashes involving cars that were equipped with FSD and the software was believed to be engaged at the time. "In these crashes, the reduced roadway visibility arose from conditions such as sun glare, fog, or airborne dust," the agency said. "In one of the crashes, the Tesla vehicle fatally struck a pedestrian. One additional crash in these conditions involved a reported injury."
The FSD investigation is one of six probes that NHTSA currently has open that are related to Tesla's cars.
Krishnamoorthi said the latest videos showing Tesla drivers sleeping behind the wheel so the need for the agency to investigate further.
"NHTSA has already identified the dangers that can arise when a highly capable driver-assistance system ispaired with inadequate safeguards against driver disengagement," the Illinois Democrat said. "The recent evidence warrants a clear determination of whether those lessons have been fully addressed."
Keith Laing is an automotive reporter on the National Trending Desk at USA TODAY. Contact Keith at klaing@usatodayco.com.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Tesla autopilot probe urged after videos show drivers asleep at the wheel
