US probing Teslas over driverless feature

The U.S. government is probing Tesla over a driverless feature in its electric vehicles, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).

The NHTSA cited Tesla's "Smart Summon" and "Actually Smart Summon" features, which let a user remotely move certain vehicles via phone app. The agency said the features played a part in crashes in which "the user had too little reaction time to avoid a crash, either with the available line of sight or releasing the phone app button, which stops the vehicle’s movement.”

According to the agency, Monday marked the start of the investigation looking into the abilities of Actually Smart Summon in relation to the crash allegations. The agency said it is going to assess factors including “the top speed that a vehicle can attain while Actually Smart Summon is engaged.”

Tesla recently reported its first drop in annual deliveries in at least nine years in spite of a rise in its numbers amid the fourth quarter of 2024. Last week, the company said it delivered 1,789,226 vehicles worldwide last year, slightly lower than 2023’s reported delivery number of 1,808,581 vehicles.

Tesla, which is owned by tech billionaire and President-elect Trump ally Elon Musk, has seen its stock drastically rise in the wake of Trump's 2024 election win. 

Musk heavily supported Trump in his bid for the presidency, endorsing him following an assassination attempt against the president-elect in July. He also made appearances at rallies for Trump and started America PAC, a pro-Trump super PAC.

The Hill has reached out to Tesla for comment.