Image: © Tierney/Stock.adobe.com
As part of the recall, Tesla will provide a free, over-the-air software update for Autopilot to avoid what US authorities are calling an increased risk of a crash.
Tesla has had to recall nearly all its vehicles in the US – more than 2m – after a federal investigation found that the Autopilot feature was not safe enough.
According to an investigation conducted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) that began in 2021, the Autopilot software on Tesla vehicles may present an “increased risk of a crash” if the driver fails to maintain “continuous and sustained” responsibility for vehicle operation and is “unprepared to intervene” as necessary.
Elon Musk-owned Tesla is the world’s largest maker of electric vehicles and has a dominant share of the US market. The latest recall is significant because it affects nearly all vehicles manufactured between 5 October 2012 and 7 December 2023.
The NHTSA wrote in its safety recall report that Tesla is providing a free, over-the-air software update to all vehicles recalled.
“The remedy will incorporate additional controls and alerts to those already existing on affected vehicles to further encourage the driver to adhere to their continuous driving responsibility whenever Autosteer is engaged, which includes keeping their hands on the steering wheel and paying attention to the roadway,” the report reads.
This includes increasing the prominence of visual alerts on the user interface, simplifying engagement and disengagement of Autosteer, and additional checks upon engaging Autosteer and while using the feature outside controlled access highways.
Autopilot has been under regulatory scrutiny since it was first introduced nearly a decade ago. According to a Washington Post analysis of federal data, vehicles guided by the software have been involved in more than 700 crashes, at least 19 of which were fatal, as of October 2023.
In July 2020, a German court ruled that Autopilot’s marketing was misleading and suggested the vehicle was capable of driving itself, including by using the name ‘Autopilot’.
Despite a disappointing 2022, Tesla reached a new record in car sales in the first quarter of this year thanks to price cuts. The company delivered nearly 423,000 vehicles for the quarter, a 4pc rise from the previous quarter and a 36pc boost from the same period last year.
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