NHTSA is looking into Tesla's sudden braking issue
The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) is probing Tesla for its “phantom braking” issue, which has raised numerous concerns amongst drivers. The agency is requesting the automaker respond by June 20.
The NHTSA has received 758 reports on the phantom braking issue, according to Reuters. A report from the NHTSA back in February stated, “complainants report that the rapid deceleration can occur without warning, at random, and often repeatedly in a single drive cycle.”
“Phantom braking” is when Autopilot is engaged and the vehicle slows down suddenly. The issue is particularly concerning on freeways where there may be little to no time for other drivers to react safely. It has raised concern for the drivers because it’s unpredictable.
The issue has become worse since May 2021 when Tesla started producing some vehicles without radar. Vehicles without radar or those that have transitioned to Tesla Vision rely solely on cameras for Autosteer and TACC.
The phantom braking issues have been around for several years. The issues started when Teslas were having accidents with tractor trailers crossing in front of them. Additionally, it happens more frequently at underpasses or when there are shadows on the road, which can be mistaken for the side of a truck.
This probe into Tesla’s Autopilot system comes after numerous complaints from Tesla owners, and Tesla dismissing the complaints.
According to Reuters, a Model Y owner reported to the NHTSA that the vehicle slowed down from 80mph to 69mph in less than a second.
“The car braked hard and decelerated from 80 mph to 69 mph in less than a second,” the owner wrote. “The braking was so violent, my head snapped forward and I almost lost control of the car.”
In May 2021, Elon Musk stated that removing the radar sensor would solve the “phantom braking” issue.
We anticipate Tesla will respond and explain what the cause of the issue is. Depending on the NHTSA’s ideal solution, Tesla may need to take the phantom braking issue more seriously and focus on fixing or minimizing the sudden braking through an OTA update.
This could potentially be done by using the data that Tesla has already gathered from its fleet, identifying when and where phantom braking happens most frequently, and then allowing the software to dictate whether it should use the brakes.
Personally, I have noticed my Model 3 braking for road signs that flash orange above the interstate. For example, a sign may have orange flashing lights to indicate that ice may be on the bridge. I’ve also noticed this when traffic lights are controlling the flow into an interstate from the on ramp in California. These instances, however, are more predictable and not as abrupt or sudden.
So, with Halloween all squared away, the next big holiday coming up is Christmas. Each year, Tesla releases a big Holiday update packed with features. Last year’s update included some awesome features, including alternate routes, the Vision upgrade for Park Assist, Speed Cameras and Traffic Light icons, and the Automatic Blind Spot indicator, among others.
We already know that update 2024.44 - the Holiday Update Branch - is coming with Blind Spot Monitoring while Parked, Supercharger Improvements, and more. But, we’ve got a ton of good ideas that we hope will make the list, so put down your pumpkin spice, and grab your egg nog. It’s the holidays, and it’ll be Cybertruck’s first Christmas, so let’s celebrate!
Apple Watch App
First up—the Apple Watch app. This has been a highly requested feature over the past couple of years, and it looks like Tesla is listening. Tesla has apparently already begun development to support the Apple Watch in app update 4.38, so we’re expecting this to arrive as part of the big Holiday update. We’d love to see an equivalent app for Android-based watches, too.
Phone Left on Charger Alert
It’s easy to forget your phone inside of the vehicle, especially if it’s on the phone dock. A simple app alert that a phone has been left in the vehicle would be really useful. Tesla could potentially even tell the difference between a driver’s phone and a passenger’s phone, depending on the vehicle’s profile being used or which doors were open and closed.
Either way, just receiving an app notification if a phone is left in the car would be really useful, especially since your phone is your car key.
Light Show Support
Tesla Lightshows are great, but they could be made even better with Tesla app support. At the very least, it’d be great to be able to start/schedule or stop a light show from the app.
To really make light shows shine, Tesla could add the ability to create a light show directly from the app. Right now creating a light show involves using the open-source app xLights on a computer, so a simplified version of it running in the app would make it accessible to a lot more users.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Perform a synchronized light show with multiple Tesla vehicles…and a new song 🎶<br><br>Rolling out now in this year’s holiday update <a href="https://t.co/XqBUy5GxhN">pic.twitter.com/XqBUy5GxhN</a></p>&mdash; Tesla (@Tesla) <a href="https://twitter.com/Tesla/status/1737904802820919387?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 21, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Precondition Battery Button
Similar to an in-vehicle preconditioning button for 3rd party chargers, the Tesla App should also have a button to precondition the battery. This will make it easy for users, especially those who don’t have home charging – to get their vehicles ready for DC Fast Charging before departing.
Garage Door Controls
Tesla owners with HomeLink can control their garage doors directly from the vehicle. However, the Tesla app currently only allows users to open the first programmed garage door and doesn’t give the user access to any of the other programmed doors. Adding the option to choose which garage door to open via the HomeLink button would be a valuable addition—especially useful when paired with Actually Smart Summon.
Drive Stats
While Tesla already records and displays charging sessions in the app’s Charge Stats section, it’d be really helpful if Tesla also added the ability to record drives. That way, you could easily track how much your vehicle was driven on a particular day, week, or over the course of the year.
If you have any other suggestions, let us know in our forums. Who knows, some Tesla product managers may even be listening.
Tesla has added payment plan options to its shop items for the first time. They’ve partnered with Klarna, a deferred payment provider, to spread the cost of items across multiple payments. For now, this appears to be limited to the Tesla Shop in the United States—no support for other regions quite yet.
Payment Options
Klarna’s primary payment option allows buyers to get 0% APR for 6 weeks, with 4 payments. The payment schedule is essentially one payment every two weeks for whichever product you buy - enabling you to buy now, and pay later with 0% financing.
For example, the payment schedule for the $420 Wall Connector is evenly divided into four portions. Of course, you’d also have to pay for shipping and taxes, both of which will be included in your first payment.
Payment 1
Payment 2
Payment 3
Payment 4
Amount
$105
$105
$105
$105
Payment Due
Day of Purchase
Week 2
Week 4
Week 6
For some of Tesla’s more expensive Shop options - like the Cybertent, this could be a fantastic means for some owners to pick up something more expensive without having to worry about interest charges on their credit card.
Klarna also offers some other payment schedules, which do have interest. While these are far more expensive and are more like credit cards, they still provide buyers a means to buy now and pay over time. These are all open loans as well, so you can pay them down at a faster rate, thereby reducing the overall interest.
Payment Schedule
Payment Rate
Interest Rate
6 Weeks
Biweekly
0%
6 Months
Monthly
7.99% to 33.99%
12 Months
Monthly
7.99% to 33.99%
FSD Payment Options?
We’d love to see an equivalent payment option available for Tesla’s FSD purchase, which is currently $8,000, even if it's bought after the vehicle purchase. The high upfront cost is likely one reason why Tesla’s FSD subscription is so popular.
It’s likely that purchasing FSD is much more popular at the time of vehicle purchase, as owners can roll the cost of FSD into their financing rather than paying the full $8,000 later on.
IPO Filing
Interestingly enough, along with today’s news that Klarna is working with Tesla, Klarna has also filed for an IPO in the United States. It is one of the first financial tech (FinTech) companies to file for an IPO in 2025 and, interestingly, one of the first European companies to conduct an IPO in the United States.
For those who trade in the financial sector, this will be one to watch—Klarna was valued at around $46 billion in 2021 and is now valued at approximately $15 billion. Partnering with a large and well-known brand like Tesla could uplift Klarna, but that’s all financial speculation.
![First Look at Tesla's New 'Service History' Feature [Photos]](https://www.notateslaapp.com/img/containers/article_images/service-mode/service-mode-records-4.jpg/8dd9d11fd3f5159c393831cbd9f4815a/service-mode-records-4.jpg)
