Tesla FSD faces rail crash questions
A Tesla operating in Full Self‑Driving reportedly drove through a railroad gate seconds before an oncoming train in Texas, prompting Senators Ed Markey and Richard Blumenthal to ask NHTSA for a formal investigation while NHTSA already has an open probe into FSD. (electrek.co) At the same time Tesla is pushing incentives: it rolled out a Safety Score 3.0 that could lower insurance costs for FSD‑logged miles and launched ‘FSD Streaks’ to show subscriber usage, and regulatory moves abroad include RDW approval of FSD for use on public roads in the Netherlands. (notateslaapp.com) (benzinga.com) (digitimes.com)
A reported Texas incident in which a Tesla using Full Self-Driving drove through a lowered railroad gate has renewed pressure on federal regulators. (electrek.co) Senators Edward Markey and Richard Blumenthal said on September 29, 2025 that they asked the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to open a formal investigation into Tesla Full Self-Driving at railroad crossings after “a growing number” of reported failures. (markey.senate.gov) The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration already has an open preliminary evaluation, PE25012, covering Tesla Full Self-Driving behavior that may violate traffic laws, including “violations or attempted violations” at railroad crossings. The agency says that probe covers an estimated 2,882,566 Tesla vehicles equipped with Full Self-Driving Beta or Full Self-Driving Supervised. (nhtsa.gov) Tesla describes Full Self-Driving Supervised as a driver-assistance system, not a self-driving car. On its support pages, Tesla says the feature can drive “almost anywhere” with active supervision, and that the driver must stay attentive and be ready to take over at all times. (tesla.com) That distinction sits at the center of the federal review. In PE25012, the safety agency said Tesla characterizes the system as Society of Automotive Engineers Level 2 partial automation, which means the human driver remains fully responsible for driving and for obeying traffic laws. (nhtsa.gov) At the same time, Tesla is adding features that reward or highlight use of the system. Tesla says Safety Score version 3.0 now measures safety factors only on miles driven without Full Self-Driving Supervised engaged, while miles driven with the feature on receive a score of 100 in the calculation. (tesla.com) Tesla also says eligible insurance customers can get a premium reduction tied to how much they drive with Full Self-Driving Supervised engaged. Tesla’s support page lists the updated insurance benefit as available from April 14, 2026 for new policyholders in Illinois, Indiana, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia, with Arizona also shifting to the Safety Score 3.0 method on that date. (tesla.com) In Tesla’s Spring 2026 software update, the company also rolled out a Self-Driving app that shows daily streaks and a breakdown of miles driven with and without the feature. TechCrunch reported the update on April 14, 2026, and Electrek said the app lets owners subscribe in one tap for $99.99 a month on supported hardware. (techcrunch.com) (electrek.co) Outside the United States, the Dutch vehicle authority RDW said on April 10, 2026 that it issued type approval for Tesla Full Self-Driving Supervised after more than a year and a half of testing. RDW also said the system is “not self-driving” and that the driver remains responsible when it is enabled. (rdw.nl) So the same week Tesla expanded insurance incentives, usage tracking, and European access for Full Self-Driving Supervised, U.S. scrutiny stayed focused on a simpler question: whether the system reliably stops where a train is coming. (tesla.com) (rdw.nl) (electrek.co)
