Federal investigators investigating Tesla’s full self-driving (FSD) technology have requested information from the company about the Mad Max mode it added to the system. the company has reclaimed that Mad Max offers “higher speeds and more frequent lane changes” than its Rush speed profile.
“NHTSA is in contact with the manufacturer to gather additional information,” the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said. Reuters. “The human being behind the wheel is fully responsible for driving the vehicle and complying with all road safety laws.”
When it opened a new investigation into FSD earlier this month, NHTSA said the technology had “induced vehicle behavior that violated highway safety laws.” Some Tesla vehicles with FSD activated are said to have run red lights and driven against the flow of traffic.
Tesla initially offered a Mad Max mode in 2018, before FSD was available. The company revived Mad Max this month and it wasn’t long before there were reports of Tesla vehicles using stop sign mode and driving above the speed limits.
Earlier this year, when Tesla CEO Elon Musk was leading the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), the Trump administration’s initiative NHTSA staff allegedly slaughtered. As part of that, DOGE is said to have laid off three people who were part of a small team working on autonomous vehicle safety.
