The US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has closed its 2022 preliminary investigation into nearly 695,000 Tesla Model 3 and Model Y vehicles over reports of unexpected braking, concluding that the issue posed a low demonstrated safety risk and that complaints had dropped sharply after software updates. The development was first reported by Reuters.
The investigation was launched in 2022 after hundreds of Tesla owners reported instances of their vehicles slowing down unexpectedly while using driver-assistance features; a phenomenon widely referred to as “phantom braking.” At the time, the agency had received around 300 complaints.
According to Reuters, rolled out software updates in early 2022 aimed at addressing the issue. NHTSA said those updates appear to have had the intended effect, with reported incidents falling to 45 in 2024, 19 in 2025 and just three so far in 2026. The regulator also noted that the reported braking events generally did not cause vehicles to leave their lanes or create a significant risk of rear-end collisions, leading it to close the probe.
The latest decision comes just days after NHTSA closed another investigation into an estimated 376,241 Tesla Model 3 and Model Y vehicles over reports of power steering failure.
According to Reuters, that probe was closed after Tesla issued a recall in 2025 and deployed an over-the-air software update to fix the steering assist issue. Regulators concluded that the corrective action adequately addressed the problem, marking the second federal investigation involving Tesla to be closed within a week. While the closure removes one of Tesla’s longest-running safety investigations, the electric vehicle maker continues to face scrutiny from US regulators over other aspects of its vehicles and driver-assistance technology.
Although the phantom braking investigation has been closed, Tesla continues to face scrutiny over the safety of its vehicles, particularly the Cybertruck, which has been hit by a string of over the past two years.
According to Reuters, Tesla recalled more than 46,000 Cybertrucks in the US in March 2025 after regulators found that a stainless-steel exterior trim panel could detach while the vehicle was in motion, posing a potential hazard to other road users. Months earlier, in April 2024, the company recalled 3,878 Cybertrucks to fix an accelerator pedal pad that could come loose and become lodged in the interior trim, increasing the risk of unintended acceleration.
Reuters also reported that Tesla issued several other Cybertruck recalls in 2024 to address issues involving faulty windshield wipers, loose exterior trim, delayed rear-view camera displays and a drive-inverter defect that could result in a loss of propulsion. Unlike most automakers, Tesla frequently resolves safety concerns through over-the-air software updates, allowing many owners to receive fixes without visiting a service centre. Even so, the company remains under close regulatory scrutiny in the US as authorities continue to assess the safety of its vehicles and driver-assistance technologies.
