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Former Ford CEO hammers Tesla’s Autopilot probe: ‘It’s half the vehicles Tesla has ever built’
Former Ford CEO Mark Fields hammered Tesla’s Autopilot probe from the NHTSA earlier today on an episode of CNBC’s Squawk Box, stating that over half of the cars the automaker has ever built are involved in the investigation.
Earlier this week, it was announced the NHTSA was launching a probe into the Autopilot system Tesla has equipped on its vehicles. The investigation involves all four of Tesla’s models from year 2014 to 2021, as it aligns with the specifications that the NHTSA’s Office of Defects Investigation listed in its preliminary report. In total, some 765,000 vehicles are going to be a part of the investigation, although only 11 crashes are listed on the document, which the agency shared with Teslarati.
“The Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) has identified eleven crashes in which Tesla models of various configurations have encountered first responder scenes and subsequently struck one or more vehicles involved with those scenes,” it says.
Fmr. Ford CEO Fields: “It’s literally over half of the vehicles Tesla has ever built.”
Mark Fields, who was CEO of Ford Motor Company from 2014 to 2017, appeared on CNBC this morning to talk about the probe. “This is a significant investigation,” he said. However, Fields misidentifies which Tesla semi-autonomous driving suite is actually under investigation, as he claims it is the Full Self-Driving package. FSD is significantly different than Autopilot based on features and functionality alone, and the NHTSA never mentions the Full Self-Driving suite at any point in its document.
Fields points toward the population density of the investigation as a telltale sign that this could be bad news for Tesla, as over half of its produced vehicles could be subjected to a massive recall that could cost the automaker billions of dollars. Tesla surpassed the 1 million production mark in 2020 and is nearing the 2 million vehicle mark this year.
“If you look at the model years, this is a very large time period they’re investigating: 2014-2021. If you look at the number of potentially affected vehicles, it’s …. literally over half of the vehicles $TSLA has ever built,” auto exec Mark Fields on the NHTSA investigation. pic.twitter.com/kwcUT5Jd47
— Squawk Box (@SquawkCNBC) August 17, 2021
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The investigation does focus on a larger than half portion of Tesla’s production population in its short history. However, it is worth noting that the company did not mass produce vehicles until 2017 with the introduction of the Model 3. Additionally, Autopilot is available on all Tesla vehicles and was included as a standard feature in March 2019. Full Self-Driving is not a part of this investigation, and is a separate $10,000 charge on top of the vehicle’s purchase price but is completely optional.
Fields said that the investigation could take between a year and a year and a half based on his knowledge of the NHTSA investigation process. If the NHTSA concludes the Autopilot functionality is not up to its standards, it can issue a recall, Fields added.
The 11 Accidents: a Breakdown
According to the NHTSA documents, the 11 incidents involving a Tesla occurred when the vehicles collided with first responders. However, several investigations have already shown that drivers operating the vehicles in some of the incidents were under the influence of drugs or alcohol (2), had suspended licenses (1), were not following instructions that Tesla outlines for Autopilot use, or was caused by driver inattention (4).
In February 2021, a Tesla driver injured five deputy constables when the vehicle collided with a police cruiser, causing a chain collision. The driver was arrested on suspicion of DWI.
In March 2021, a driver in Lansing, Michigan, with a suspended license, crashed into a police cruiser. The vehicle was operating on Autopilot, but the driver was illegally operating the vehicle.
These are just two examples of what the accidents were caused by, and drivers could be blamed for several instances that the NHTSA lists. Autopilot has been one of the safest ways to operate a motor vehicle, according to statistics from Tesla that showed there was one accident every 4.19 million miles in which drivers had Autopilot engaged. The national average was one crash every 484,000 miles.
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On Friday, Tesla launched the Outlet Adapter that enabled Vehicle-to-Load (V2L) energy transfer, meaning owners could essentially utilize their cars as a power source for things like laptops, electric grills, or string lights.
However, even owners of some of the newest builds of the Model Y are finding out that their cars are not compatible with the new $80 accessory, stirring up a new complaint among members of the community.
Tesla launches V2L Outlet Adapter for Premium Model Y in the U.S.
Upon the release of the Outlet Adapter on Friday, I signed into my Tesla account to order the accessory. However, I was met with the dreaded “This product is not compatible with your 2026 Model Y” message at the bottom of the screen.
Some said their accounts also displayed the same message, but they ordered anyway. However, they might be surprised to find that this is no mistake; some of the newest Model Ys do not have the appropriate Power Conversion System (PCS). Mine, which was ordered on this day last year and delivered on August 31, has the old 48A, single-phase PCS.
Vehicles with the new, two-piece PCS are able to utilize V2L features on their cars:
🚨 Looks like you can hit the Parts Catalog and enter your VIN and check to see if your Model Y will be able to use the adapter for V2L.https://t.co/QA9zRk7n2k
h/t to @SawyerMerritt for finding this out.
-I am sad but this isn’t a huge loss. https://t.co/AYpI12QVV9 pic.twitter.com/LRFSrtRywo
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) August 16, 2026
Obviously, it’s disappointing. Many owners have taken delivery this year and still can not utilize the Outlet Adapter because their cars feature the old PCS:
Took delivery in February of 2026. I have the older one, so not going to work for me pic.twitter.com/RcOVq8gvvT
— Russell (@QuietTesla) August 16, 2026
It looks like if you have one of these older PCS units, you can upgrade, but the parts alone are $1,750, and that’s before Tesla adds labor for installing. It is honestly more logical to get some kind of portable power supply or power station at that point.
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It is great that Tesla has enabled V2L for Model Y vehicles, but it is also unfortunate that vehicles that are less than one year old are not able to take advantage of this awesome new feature.
With that being said, it truly is a first-world problem; can you really complain when Full Self-Driving is available, maintenance is incredibly inexpensive, and the car has been so good through a year of ownership?
Tesla has launched a new Vehicle-to-Load (V2L) Outlet Adapter for Premium Model Y vehicles in the United States, meaning you can now power devices like laptops or light strings with your vehicle’s battery.
It appears the capability will be available for any Model Y Premium trim, including those that were purchased prior to the Adapter being launched. It will also only impact Juniper Model Y vehicles, so the first-gen owners will unfortunately not have access to this capability.
If your Model Y was purchased before Tesla renamed the trim levels to “Premium” and “Standard,” it does not seem to be compatible. My Model Y is technically a Premium build, as it is the Long Range All-Wheel-Drive. However, Tesla says it is not compatible with my vehicle.
🚨 Tesla has launched the Outlet Adapter for Model Y Premium in the U.S., enabling V2L capability for all Premium trims (that’s what it appears to be as it is available for purchase with all Premium trims)
It’s available for $80. 2.4kW max power and rated for 120v, 20A pic.twitter.com/lDxlVIk5s8
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) August 14, 2026
For $80, you can now utilize your car as a portable charger for small appliances or devices. This is perfect for things like tailgates, concerts, or camping, as you can now plug in devices that you might use. Those string lights for camping? That laptop for the other games that are on at the tailgate?
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They’ll both utilize energy from your Tesla’s battery to be powered. This is the first time Tesla has expanded the capability to vehicles outside of the Model Y Performance and Cybertruck. However, this feature has been highly requested by owners for an extended period of time.
Tesla launched the Outlet Adapter in China last year:
Tesla China rolls out Model Y L V2L adapter, and it’s free for early owners
You will need the Mobile Connector to operate the Outlet Adapter: the Outlet Adapter will plug into the main housing of the Mobile Connector, where the appropriate adapter to charge your vehicle will plug in.
It is rated for 120 volts and 20 amps, and has a max power rating of 2.4kW.
You can buy it here from Tesla for $80.
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Tesla is nearing its long-awaited unveiling of the all-electric Tesla Roadster, a new report from The Information claims, as the company has said several times this year that the event would take place “soon.”
Now, it appears there is movement on Tesla’s end regarding when it will happen.
The report says that Tesla will unveil the Roadster as soon as this month with a SpaceX version that will utilize cold-gas thrusters to help the vehicle float for a short period of time. This is something CEO Elon Musk has talked about with the Roadster for years.
🚨 The Information is reporting this morning that Tesla is ready to unveil the “flying” Roadster as soon as this month
It’s almost here, folks. pic.twitter.com/IdL4atsucQ
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) August 14, 2026
Additionally, due to the delays, Tesla explored “a variety of designs” for the Roadster, potentially planning to abandon the design it showed off for the first time in 2017 and adopting an entirely new aesthetic.
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According to The Information, Tesla considered utilizing a repurposed Model S Plaid and even wanted to upgrade the look to something like a Lamborghini Countach.
We’ve heard all of these things before, including teases about the date and how “soon” the Roadster will finally be ready to be shown off to the world (for the second time). Musk said that the event would occur in April, then May, then Chief Designer Franz von Holzhausen continued to say it would be coming “soon.”
We do expect to see the Roadster by the end of the year, and now with this new report swirling, it appears it could be sooner rather than later.
The wait has been incredibly long, but there is likely a good reason for it. Tesla’s desire to make the Roadster the craziest vehicle on the road was non-negotiable, and it likely took a lot of time and resources to develop and perfect into something that was safe and suitable for a vehicle like this.
Tesla V2L adapter for Model Y stirs up a new complaint among owners
Tesla launches V2L Outlet Adapter for Premium Model Y in the U.S.
