The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is evaluating allegations that Tesla Inc. vehicles contain a defect that can cause sudden unintended acceleration, according to a notice posted on the agency’s website.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration will probe the Dec. 29 fatal crash of a Tesla Inc. vehicle that slammed into a parked fire truck on an Indiana highway, the agency said Jan. 8.

Takata Corp., the auto parts supplier that went bankrupt after its air bags spurred the largest-ever recall, told U.S. safety regulators that another 1.4 million U.S. vehicles need to be repaired over a potentially deadly defect.