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Tesla Subpoenas May Presage Formal Probe, Ex-Official Says

  • Safety regulator demanded crash data from Musk’s carmaker
  • Agency’s Autopilot scrutiny followed series of collisions
Photographer: Angel Garcia/Bloomberg
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Freshly disclosed records suggest the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration may be preparing a formal investigation into Tesla Inc.’s driver-assistance system Autopilot, a former agency official said.

The agency has issued at least five subpoenas since April 2018 for information about Tesla vehicle crashes, according to NHTSA correspondence with the electric-car manufacturer released Tuesday by Plainsite. The legal transparency group obtained the documents through a public records request for communications regarding Autopilot.