Tesla is facing one less federal investigation as U.S. regulators wrap up a years-long investigation that looked into reports of Model Y steering wheels separating from their steering columns due to the absence of retaining bolts.
The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said in a document posted on its website that it is closing the preliminary investigation on March 4, 2023, which was opened to allow regulators to look into reports from at least two Model Y owners who said their cars were delivered without the bolts needed to retain their steering wheels to the column.
NHTSA said it is now closing the Model Y investigation because “no evidence has been identified to indicate that the alleged defect exists outside of the two 2023 incidents that prompted the initiation of the investigation”.
NHTSA cautioned that “the closure of this investigation does not constitute NHTSA’s conclusion that a safety defect no longer exists.” The agency said it “reserves the right to take additional action if warranted by future circumstances.”
What does the end of testing mean for car buyers?
NHTSA’s decision to end the investigation of Tesla’s Model Y means consumers will continue to buy the company’s best-selling model.
The NHTSA investigation involved 120,089 Tesla Model Y cars from the 2023 model year.
If NHTSA had decided to continue the investigation, the cars could have been at risk of being physically recalled, or Tesla could have been forced to stop selling the vehicles altogether starting in the 2023 model year.
What happened to Tesla stock?
Tesla stock was at $377.91 in mid-morning trading on the NASDAQ stock exchange on Tuesday, April 28. This is lower than the close of $378.67 on Monday, April 27.
Tesla stock benefited from the company’s release of financial results for the first quarter of 2026 after the bell on April 22, when Tesla reported figures close to Wall Street expectations, as the company remains in a tough battle with Chinese electric vehicle maker BYD.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk told investors on a live call that Tesla is going to “significantly increase capital investment” in hopes of a big increase in production. He said the company will focus on improving its “core technologies” of batteries, powertrains, AI software and training, and chip design, and laying the foundation for a significant increase in manufacturing output.
Other federal investigations into Tesla
Tesla is the subject of five open federal investigations, including one announced by NHTSA in late December that examined potential issues with passengers having difficulty exiting Model 3 and Model Y vehicles after crashes.
The open investigations into Tesla include:
- The audit query, launched by NHTSA on August 20, 2025, is investigating delays by Tesla in reporting mandatory details of crashes involving driver-assistance technology. NHTSA said it had identified several incident reports from automakers that were submitted “several months or more” after the crashes occurred. Under NHTSA orders, companies were generally required to file such reports within one to five days of being notified of an accident.
- September 15, 2025 Preliminary evaluation of the performance of the emergency door handle on Tesla’s Model Y compact SUV. The agency said the investigation covered 174,290 2021 Tesla Model Ys after it received nine complaints of the vehicles being unable to open doors.
- The preliminary assessment, dated October 7, 2025, looked at the scope, frequency, and potential safety consequences of Tesla’s Full Self Drive software executing driving maneuvers that constitute a traffic safety violation. NHTSA said the investigation involved the “FSD (Supervised)” and “FSD (Beta)” versions of Tesla-labeled software.
- The guilty plea on December 24, 2025, investigates the performance of the emergency door handle on Tesla’s Model 3 electric sedan, which is Tesla’s cheapest and second-best-selling car.
- March 18, 2026 Engineering analysis evaluated the ability of Tesla’s Full Self Drive software to operate in poor visibility conditions.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY. Reporting by Keith Lang, USA TODAY/USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect.