David Shepardson
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. auto safety regulators said on Friday they had opened an investigation into whether Tesla’s (NASDAQ:) recall of more than 2 million vehicles announced in December was to install new Autopilot safety systems.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said it is launching an investigation after the agency identified problems related to crashes after vehicles were equipped with a recall software update “and received results from NHTSA’s preliminary testing of the corrected vehicles.” .
NHTSA also cited Tesla’s statement “that part of the remedy both requires owner consent and allows the driver to easily override it.”
The agency said Tesla has released software updates to address issues that appear to be related to its problems, but has not made them “part of a recall or otherwise decided to address a defect that poses an unreasonable safety risk.”
In December, Tesla said its largest recall ever, covering 2.03 million vehicles in the U.S. (or nearly all of its vehicles on U.S. roads), was aimed at making drivers more attentive when using its advanced driver assistance system. .
The new recall investigation covers U.S. Autopilot-equipped Model Y, X, S, 3 and Cybertruck vehicles manufactured between the 2012 and 2024 model years, NHTSA said.
In December, Tesla said controls in its Autopilot software system “may not be sufficient to prevent driver misuse” and could increase the risk of a crash.
The Automotive Safety Agency noted Friday that in an Autopilot safety investigation it first launched in August 2021, it found at least 13 Tesla crashes in which one or more people were killed and numerous others with serious injuries in which “there is an apparent predictable misuse of the system by the driver played a role.” “
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Tesla did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
In February, Consumer Reports, a nonprofit that evaluates products and services, said testing of Tesla’s Autopilot recall update found the changes did not adequately address many of the safety concerns raised by NHTSA and called on the agency to require the automaker to take “more decisive steps.” saying Tesla’s recall “addresses minor inconveniences rather than solving real problems.”
Tesla’s Autopilot is designed to allow cars to automatically steer, accelerate and brake within their lane, while Enhanced Autopilot can assist with lane changes on highways but does not make vehicles autonomous.
One of the components of Autopilot is the automatic steering system, which maintains a set speed or following distance and keeps the vehicle in its lane.
Tesla said in December that it disagreed with NHTSA’s analysis but would roll out an over-the-air software update that would “include additional controls and alerts to those already in place on affected vehicles to further encourage the driver to respect their responsibility for driving at all times.” whenever Auto Steer is turned on.”