News
Tesla Autopilot NHTSA probe moves forward, will be compared with OEM systems
Tesla’s Autopilot probe conducted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is now moving forward as the agency is requesting information from twelve other manufacturers that also have driver assistance systems. The NHTSA sent letters to various automotive companies requesting information on Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) for a comparative analysis, the letters state.
According to the NHTSA’s website, numerous documents associated with the Tesla Autopilot probe were added on September 13th. The documents were letters sent to automakers BMW, Honda, Hyundai, Toyota, Ford, Nissan, Setllantis, Kia, Volkswagen, General Motors, Mercedes-Benz, and Subaru.
Credit: Tesla
The letter described the ongoing investigation into Tesla’s Autopilot or Traffic Aware Cruise Control systems, indicating that the NHTSA requested information on comparative systems to investigate various actions like steering controls and braking and accelerating.
The letter to BMW states:
“This information request is being sent to BMW of North America, LLC (BMW) to gather information in support of ODI’s comparative analysis amongst production vehicles equipped with the ability to control both steering and braking/accelerating simultaneously under some circumstances.”
The letter is identical to the other eleven OEMs that the NHTSA requested information from.
According to the company’s accident data that it publishes each quarter, Tesla Autopilot is the safest way to operate a vehicle. The most recently posted data shows statistics from Q1 2021 and indicates that Tesla vehicles were driven 4.19 million miles under autopilot before an accident occurred. NHTSA statistics list the national average as 484,000 miles driven between accidents.
In mid-August, the NHTSA launched an investigation into 765,000 affected Tesla vehicles with model years from 2014 to 2021. The investigation was launched due to eleven instances of Tesla vehicles crashing into emergency vehicles since 2018. The vehicles were allegedly operating with Autopilot of Traffic Aware Cruise Control. The NHTSA investigation expanded to twelve incidents when another Tesla accident occurred in Orlando, Florida, shortly after the launch of the investigation. The driver stated the car was on Autopilot, but this has not yet been confirmed.
The NHTSA investigation is expected to take some time, perhaps 18 months, former Ford CEO Mark Fields recently said. However, Tesla’s Autopilot system is on the line depending on the results of the investigation. If the NHTSA finds the system was at fault, it could recall the system and halt the advancement of automated driving assistance features for several years.
Tesla is required to submit information regarding the twelve involved vehicles, such as VIN number, software, hardware, and firmware versions to the NTHSA before October 22nd, 2021.
What do you think? Let us know in the comments below, or be sure to email me at joey@teslarati.com or on Twitter @KlenderJoey.
News
Tesla sees sharp November rebound in China as Model Y demand surges
New data from the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA) shows a 9.95% year-on-year increase and a 40.98% jump month-over-month.
Tesla’s sales momentum in China strengthened in November, with wholesale volumes rising to 86,700 units, reversing a slowdown seen in October.
New data from the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA) shows a 9.95% year-on-year increase and a 40.98% jump month-over-month. This was partly driven by tightened delivery windows, targeted marketing, and buyers moving to secure vehicles before changes to national purchase tax incentives take effect.
Tesla’s November rebound coincided with a noticeable spike in Model Y interest across China. Delivery wait times extended multiple times over the month, jumping from an initial 2–5 weeks to estimated handovers in January and February 2026 for most five-seat variants. Only the six-seat Model Y L kept its 4–8 week estimated delivery timeframe.
The company amplified these delivery updates across its Chinese social media channels, urging buyers to lock in orders early to secure 2025 delivery slots and preserve eligibility for current purchase tax incentives, as noted in a CNEV Post report. Tesla also highlighted that new inventory-built Model Y units were available for customers seeking guaranteed handovers before December 31.
This combination of urgency marketing and genuine supply-demand pressure seemed to have helped boost November’s volumes, stabilizing what had been a year marked by several months of year-over-year declines.
For the January–November period, Tesla China recorded 754,561 wholesale units, an 8.30% decline compared to the same period last year. The company’s Shanghai Gigafactory continues to operate as both a domestic production base and a major global export hub, building the Model 3 and Model Y for markets across Asia, Europe, and the Middle East, among other territories.
Investor's Corner
Tesla bear gets blunt with beliefs over company valuation
Tesla bear Michael Burry got blunt with his beliefs over the company’s valuation, which he called “ridiculously overvalued” in a newsletter to subscribers this past weekend.
“Tesla’s market capitalization is ridiculously overvalued today and has been for a good long time,” Burry, who was the inspiration for the movie The Big Short, and was portrayed by Christian Bale.
Burry went on to say, “As an aside, the Elon cult was all-in on electric cars until competition showed up, then all-in on autonomous driving until competition showed up, and now is all-in on robots — until competition shows up.”
Tesla bear Michael Burry ditches bet against $TSLA, says ‘media inflated’ the situation
For a long time, Burry has been skeptical of Tesla, its stock, and its CEO, Elon Musk, even placing a $530 million bet against shares several years ago. Eventually, Burry’s short position extended to other supporters of the company, including ARK Invest.
Tesla has long drawn skepticism from investors and more traditional analysts, who believe its valuation is overblown. However, the company is not traded as a traditional stock, something that other Wall Street firms have recognized.
While many believe the company has some serious pull as an automaker, an identity that helped it reach the valuation it has, Tesla has more than transformed into a robotics, AI, and self-driving play, pulling itself into the realm of some of the most recognizable stocks in tech.
Burry’s Scion Asset Management has put its money where its mouth is against Tesla stock on several occasions, but the firm has not yielded positive results, as shares have increased in value since 2020 by over 115 percent. The firm closed in May.
In 2020, it launched its short position, but by October 2021, it had ditched that position.
Tesla has had a tumultuous year on Wall Street, dipping significantly to around the $220 mark at one point. However, it rebounded significantly in September, climbing back up to the $400 region, as it currently trades at around $430.
It closed at $430.14 on Monday.
News
Tesla is making a change to its exterior cameras with a potential upgrade
Tesla appears to be making a change to its exterior side repeater cameras, which are used for the company’s Full Self-Driving suite, and other features, like Sentry Mode.
The change appears to be a potential upgrade in preparation for the AI5 suite, which CEO Elon Musk said will be present on a handful of vehicles next year, but will not be widely implemented until 2027.
Currently, Tesla uses a Sony sensor lens with the model number IMX963, a 5-megapixel camera with better dynamic range and low-light performance over the past iteration in Hardware 3 vehicles. Cameras in HW3 cars were only 1.2 megapixels.
However, Tesla is looking to upgrade, it appears, as Tesla hacker greentheonly has spotted a new sensor model in its firmware code, with the model number IMX00N being explicitly mentioned:
Looks like Tesla is changing (upgrading?) cameras in (some?) new cars produced.
Where as HW4 to date used exterior cameras with IMX963, now they (might potentially) have something called IMX00N— green (@greentheonly) December 1, 2025
Sony has not announced any formal specifications for the IMX00N model, and although IMX963 has been used in AI4/HW4 vehicles, it only makes sense that Tesla would prepare to upgrade these external cameras once again in preparation for what it believes to be the second hardware iteration capable of fully autonomous self-driving.
Tesla has maintained that AI4/HW4 vehicles are capable of self-driving operation, but AI5 will likely help the company make significant strides, especially in terms of overall performance and data collection.
Tesla last updated its exterior cameras on its vehicles back in early 2023, as it transitioned to the 5-megapixel IMX963. It also added additional cameras to its vehicles in January with the new Model Y, which featured an additional lens on the front bumper to help with Full Self-Driving.
Tesla’s new self-driving computer (HW4): more cameras, radar, and more
