The original request was sent to Tesla on December 3 with a deadline of January 19 – the following Monday – with a fine of up to $27,874 per day (maximum $139.4 million) if not complied with.
However, the winter holiday period took up two of the six and a half weeks, and the company had to simultaneously prepare two other information requests for other ongoing NHTSA investigations, one today, another on January 23, and another on February 4, the company told NHTSA. It would take longer to identify all the complaints and reports, Tesla said, because when it searched for traffic violations it found 8,313 items, and it could only process 300 per day to see which ones were relevant.
Answering the remaining questions on NHTSA’s list would first require completing the above, so Tesla asked for and was granted an extension until February 23.
Meanwhile, Tesla has changed how its drivers assist the cash cow, which contributes to the bottom line. Until now, Tesla owners had the option to purchase the system for (currently) $8,000. Now, CEO Elon Musk says this option will expire on February 14. From then on, if a Tesla owner wants FSD, they will have to pay a $99 monthly fee to use it.
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