- The Tesla recall of over 2 million cars to install additional Autopilot measures in December.
- Vehicles with Autopilot built in the US of the Model Y, X, S, 3, and Cybertruck are included in the latest recall probe.
- The organization urged the NHTSA to require the automaker to take “stronger steps”.
The Tesla recall of over 2 million cars to install additional Autopilot measures in December sparked an investigation by US auto safety regulators. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) announced that it was initiating the inquiry in response to findings from initial NHTSA testing of vehicles that had been fixed and concerns raised by collision incidents that occurred after the recall software update was deployed.
Following the conclusion of its almost three-year examination into Autopilot, the agency launched a fresh inquiry. During that investigation, it discovered evidence that Tesla’s inadequate driver engagement system was inappropriate for Autopilot’s permissive operating capabilities, creating a “critical safety gap.”
Autopilot issues
To improve the safety of users of its advanced driver assistance system, Tesla announced in December that it was conducting the largest-ever recall, affecting 2.03 million American cars—nearly all of its vehicles on American roads. Vehicles with Autopilot built in the United States between the model years 2012 and 2024 that are part of the Model Y, X, S, 3, and Cybertruck are included in the latest recall probe.
As part of its Autopilot safety investigation, which it initiated in August 2021, the auto safety agency revealed that it has discovered at least 13 Tesla collisions with one or more fatalities and numerous more with severe injuries where “foreseeable driver misuse of the system played an apparent role.”
The NHTSA expressed concerns with Tesla’s Autopilot name as well, saying that it could give drivers the impression that the automation is more capable than it is and encourage them to place an undue amount of trust in it.
A nonprofit that assesses goods and services, Consumer Reports, said in February that it tested Tesla’s Autopilot recall update and discovered that the changes did not sufficiently address numerous safety concerns brought up by NHTSA.
The organization urged the NHTSA to require the automaker to take “stronger steps,” claiming that Tesla’s recall “addresses minor inconveniences rather than fixing the real problems.”
