US asks Tesla how Autopilot responds to emergency vehicles

By TOM KRISHER
AP Auto Writer

DETROIT (AP) — The U.S. government’s highway safety agency wants detailed information on how Tesla’s Autopilot system detects and responds to emergency vehicles that are handling traffic crashes. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration made the request in an 11-page letter to the electric car maker that was dated Tuesday. The letter is part of an investigation into how the company’s partially automated driving system behaves when it encounters first responder vehicles. The agency also added a 12th crash to its probe in which a Tesla on Autopilot hit a parked Florida Highway Patrol cruiser Saturday on an interstate highway near downtown Orlando. Tesla has to respond by Oct. 22 or seek an extension. The agency says it can fine Tesla more than $114 million if it fails to comply.