Tesla's Autopilot systems the subject of new NHTSA investigation

The agency said the investigation stems from 11 separate crashes.

The U.S. agency that oversees highway safety officially has launched a formal probe into Tesla's Autopilot systems after identifying 11 separate crashes involving the feature over approximately four years. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration told ABC News in a statement Monday that it is "opening a preliminary evaluation into Tesla Autopilot systems and the technologies and methods used to monitor, assist, and enforce the driver's engagement with driving while Autopilot is in use." "A preliminary evaluation starts the agency's fact-finding mission and allows additional information and data to be collected -- in this case about Tesla Autopilot," the statement added. "Specifically, this investigation stems from 11 separate crashes beginning in 2018, in which various Tesla models crashed where first responders were active, including some that crashed directly into the vehicles of first responders." In a separate document on the investigation posted to its website Monday, the agency said the probe will include 2014 through 2021 Tesla Model Y, Model X, Model S and Model 3 vehicles.