{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://krishnamoorthi.house.gov/media/press-releases/krishnamoorthi-demands-nhtsa-action-after-tesla-drivers-caught-sleeping-behind", "Krishnamoorthi Demands NHTSA Action After Tesla Drivers Caught Sleeping Behind the Wheel With Driver-Assistance System Engaged System Engaged", "2026-09-10", "2026", "2026-09", "Democrat", "House", "IL", "Raja Krishnamoorthi", "K000391", "krishnamoorthi.house.gov", "krishnamoorthi", "https://krishnamoorthi.house.gov/media/press-releases", "scraper", "WASHINGTON \u2014 On Wednesday, Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL) demanded that the Department of Transportation and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration take immediate action to address the misuse of Tesla\u2019s Autopilot and Full Self-Driving systems after an NBC News investigation identified dozens of videos appearing to show Tesla driver asleep or otherwise disengaged behind the wheel while their vehicles were moving.\n\nIn a letter to Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, Krishnamoorthi cited an NBC News investigation that identified 43 videos appearing to show individuals asleep in the driver\u2019s seat of moving Teslas, including 17 posted this year alone. Tesla\u2019s own documentation states that Autopilot and Full Self-Driving require active driver supervision and are not autonomous driving systems.\n\nIn the letter, Krishnamoorthi writes:\n\n\u201cA recent NBC News investigation identified 43 videos that appear to show individuals asleep in the driver\u2019s seat of moving Teslas, including 17 posted this year alone. These incidents are particularly alarming because Autopilot and FSD require active driver supervision and are not autonomous driving systems. As these technologies become increasingly prevalent on American roads, DOT and NHTSA must ensure that manufacturers have adequate safeguards to prevent foreseeable misuse and that drivers are not encouraged to place dangerous levels of reliance on systems that still require their full attention.\u201d\n\nKrishnamoorthi noted that NHTSA has previously identified shortcomings in Tesla\u2019s driver-engagement safeguards. In an earlier engineering analysis of Autopilot, the agency concluded that Tesla\u2019s system did not sufficiently ensure that drivers remained attentive and used the technology appropriately, identifying a mismatch between Autopilot\u2019s substantial control over the vehicle and its safeguards for keeping drivers engaged.\n\nNBC News also reported on videos appearing to show Tesla drivers sleeping at highway speeds, using laptops, watching videos, and otherwise disengaging while FSD was operating. NBC News also reported that some drivers said they had been able to evade the cabin-camera monitoring system, including by wearing sunglasses or obstructing the camera.\n\nKrishnamoorthi also raised concerns about messages Tesla reportedly began displaying to drivers with software update 2025.32.3. WIRED reported that those messages included \u201cDrowsiness detected. Stay focused with FSD\u201d and \u201cLane drift detected. Let FSD assist so you can stay focused.\u201d Because FSD requires continuous human supervision, Krishnamoorthi questioned whether encouraging a driver whom the vehicle has already detected as drowsy to use the system creates an additional safety risk.\n\nIn the letter, Krishnamoorthi writes:\n\n\u201cAdvising an alert driver who experiences a momentary lane drift to use a driver-assistance feature is one thing. Encouraging a driver whom the vehicle has detected as drowsy to \u2018stay focused with FSD\u2019 presents a fundamentally different safety question. FSD requires continuous human supervision, yet the message appears to encourage use of the system precisely when the vehicle has detected that the driver may be less capable of providing that supervision.\u201d\n\nThe concerns come as NHTSA conducts an ongoing engineering analysis involving approximately 3.2 million Tesla vehicles equipped with FSD. The agency is examining whether FSD\u2019s degradation-detection system can identify reduced roadway visibility and provide drivers with an adequate warning and sufficient time to respond. The investigation identifies nine incidents, including one fatality and one injury.\n\nKrishnamoorthi is demanding answers to the following questions:\n\nIs NHTSA aware of the growing body of publicly available videos showing Tesla drivers apparently asleep or otherwise disengaged from the driving task while Autopilot or FSD is operating? Has the agency assessed whether these incidents indicate a systemic problem with Tesla\u2019s driver-monitoring or driver-engagement systems?\n\nHas NHTSA communicated with Tesla regarding videos depicting drivers sleeping, using laptops, watching video, gaming, or otherwise disengaging from the driving task while FSD is operating? If so, what information has Tesla provided regarding the frequency of such behavior and the effectiveness of its safeguards?\n\nWhat data has NHTSA collected or requested from Tesla\u2014through the Standing General Order or other authorities\u2014concerning driver inattention, drowsiness, or apparent driver disengagement in crashes involving Autopilot or FSD? How many such incidents has the agency identified since January 1, 2024?\n\nWhat is NHTSA\u2019s current assessment of the effectiveness of Tesla\u2019s cabin-camera-based driver-monitoring system? Specifically, has the agency evaluated its performance when the cabin camera is obstructed, visibility is impaired, or drivers use sunglasses, hats, or other means that may interfere with detection?\n\nWhat findings would lead NHTSA to conclude that Tesla\u2019s driver-monitoring or driver-engagement systems constitute a safety defect requiring corrective action, including a safety recall?\n\nKrishnamoorthi requested a written response by September 30, 2026.", 1, "2026-09-11T09:25:29Z", "2026-09-11T09:27:08Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://krishnamoorthi.house.gov/media/press-releases/krishnamoorthi-demands-nhtsa-action-after-tesla-drivers-caught-sleeping-behind"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.8105030283331871, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}