Tesla is being probed by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) for not reporting accidents in a timely manner, the agency said on Thursday.

It is already well on its way to being resolved, the agency said.

The agency’s Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) identified numerous instances in which Tesla reported crashes that “occurred several months or more before the dates of the reports.”

The Standing General Order in place by the agency requires crash reports to be submitted within five days of Tesla receiving the notice of an accident.

The investigation states Tesla submitted crashes in one of two ways:

“Many of the reports were submitted as part of a single batch, while others were submitted on a rolling basis.”

The problem the NHTSA had with Tesla’s reporting is already on its way to being resolved, as the agency and the company have been in communication.

Tesla has already been in contact with the agency’s ODI and stated that the timing of the reports was an issue with its data collection. The issue has been resolved, Tesla told them.

The NHTSA said the initiation of the probe against Tesla is a “standard process for reviewing compliance with legal requirements, to evaluate the cause of potential delays in reporting, the scope of any such delays, and the mitigations that Tesla has developed to address them.”

It is the latest NHTSA probe into Tesla, as it has also been investigating the company for accidents during Full Self-Driving operation in reduced visibility conditions.

The agency also sought information on the rollout of Robotaxi a few months ago, and how Tesla planned to handle low-visibility conditions in its driverless ride-hailing service.

The NHTSA was interested in knowing how Tesla planned to assess the ability of FSD’s engineering controls, whether any other similar FSD crashes had occurred in low visibility, and if modifications to FSD software would impact its performance in these conditions.

Tesla has rolled out a minor but significant improvement to its Robotaxi service. The update was shared by the Tesla community on social media platforms such as X. 

New Robotaxi App update

As observed by the electric vehicle community on social media, Tesla has started rolling out the Robotaxi App’s Version 25.8.5 (6074) to users. The update seems to be quite minor, though Tesla mentioned something quite notable the update’s “What to Test” section.

As per Tesla, Robotaxis will now arrive at their pickup locations with their doors locked. Customers would not need to unlock the Robotaxis manually, however, as the vehicles would automatically unlock as they approach the car. “You ride now arrives locked and will automatically unlock as you walk up. Just ensure your app has Bluetooth access enabled,” Tesla wrote.

While this update is minor, it does improve the safety of the vehicles themselves. It also provides another layer of convenience for users of the driverless ride-hailing service. The fact that Tesla is already refining the Robotaxi App’s features this early bodes well for the program. It suggests, if any, that the service will already be fairly refined when it starts being opened to more users.

Robotaxi praised for its safety

Tesla is following a deliberate and cautious rollout strategy for its Robotaxi rollout, though early reviews of the system have been quite positive. Some reviewers have also dubbed Tesla’s Robotaxi service as a safer alternative to more conventional ride-hailing services such as Uber.

This was highlighted by auto reviewer Scotty Reiss in a post on A Girl’s Guide to Cars.

“I like the personal safety factor. No driver to threaten or harass you. You control the locking and unlocking of the car. You can change the pickup location at any time. The car will wait for you. You can call the support desk if you need help. You can change your destination if the drop-off area seems sketchy. All of it together makes me feel safer getting a car home from the airport at midnight or into the city after dark, and I definitely feel safer having my daughters take a self-driving rideshare when they go out to meet friends for dinner,” Reiss wrote in her post.

A small fire in Tesla’s battery assembly facility at Giga Berlin earlier this week prompted an evacuation and a temporary halt to Model Y production, though no injuries or environmental damage were reported. 

The incident occurred on Monday afternoon in the factory’s battery production area, and local authorities confirmed that Tesla immediately reported the fire. Fire crews spent several hours extinguishing the blaze before operations gradually resumed the following day.

Incident details and safety response

As noted in a report from Handelsblatt, the fire began when several stacks of battery cells fell from a conveyor belt on the first floor into a ground-level shaft. The cells ignited, with flames spreading only to the transport system on the ground floor. The Brandenburg State Office for the Environment (LfU) reported that 512 cells were affected in the incident, which is equivalent to about two-thirds of a passenger car’s battery pack.

Tesla did not respond to media inquiries, though the company did state that there was a “small fire in battery pack production.” The Oder-Spree district itself also confirmed the incident. Authorities stated that all safety procedures were followed, with Giga Berlin employees being immediately evacuated and firefighting water being fully contained within the building. A specialist cleaning firm has been tasked with handling the firefighting residue, ensuring no risk to groundwater or surrounding areas.

Impact on production and investigation

Production was immediately halted after the fire, as per a report from electrive. Drive unit assembly resumed on Tuesday afternoon, though battery pack assembly remained offline. Employees who were unable to continue their usual work participated in training programs and first-aid courses while operations were paused.

The affected cells that were involved in the fire have not been disclosed, though Giga Berlin currently uses CATL LFP cells for Model Y base variants and LG Energy Solution NCM cells for Long Range versions. Tesla is continuing its internal investigation into the cause of the incident while cooperating with regional authorities. That being said, the district has emphasized that Tesla “took all necessary measures in line with the emergency plan agreed with the local water authority and WSE.”