Teslas are streamlined, smart, stylish and look good, but as expensive as they are, they're not above the law.
Elon Musk's company said Thursday that, despite disagreeing with the ruling, it voluntarily accepted the advice and will recall 362,758 vehicles in the United States to update its Beta Full Self-Driving (FSD) software after it regulators will report that the driver assistance system does not adequately comply with road safety laws and could cause accidents.
The vehicles of this technology company, which can drive, accelerate, brake and change lanes by themselves, allow them to travel at a speed higher than the legally established limits and go through intersections "illegally or unpredictably", according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).
The federal organization argued that Tesla's software "increases the risk of crashes." The agency's tests and analysis show that components of the car's driving system in urban areas can create "an unreasonable risk to the safety of motor vehicles based on insufficient compliance with traffic safety laws." According to its statement, Tesla was not aware of any deaths or injuries caused by the defects the agency has identified.
Tesla will release an over-the-air (OTA) software update for free, and the EV maker confirmed that it was unaware of potential claims but had 18 warranty claims.
NHTSA noted that this vehicle recall only addresses part of the set of concerns with the self-driving system and that it will continue to investigate the less-advanced system and technology of what Tesla calls autopilot. Shares in the electric car company fell 1.6% to $210.76 on Thursday afternoon.
The recall covers 2017-2023 Model S, Model X, Model 3 and 2020-2023 Model Y 2016-2023 vehicles equipped with FSD Beta software or pending installation.
The NHTSA move is a rare intervention by federal regulators in a real-world testing program the company believes is crucial to the development of self-driving cars. FSD Beta is used by hundreds of thousands of Tesla customers.
The setback for Tesla's automated driving effort comes about two weeks before the company's investor day on March 1, during which Chief Executive Elon Musk is expected to promote the automaker's artificial intelligence capability. electric vehicles and plans to expand its line of vehicles.
NHTSA has an ongoing investigation that opened in 2021 into 830,000 Tesla vehicles with Autopilot driver assistance systems for a series of accidents involving parked emergency vehicles. NHTSA is reviewing whether Tesla vehicles adequately ensure that drivers are paying attention. NHTSA said Thursday that despite the FSD's withdrawal, its "investigation into Tesla's Autopilot and associated vehicle systems remains open and active."
Tesla said that in "certain rare circumstances, the feature could potentially violate traffic laws or local customs when executing certain driving maneuvers."
Possible situations where the issue could occur include traveling or turning through certain intersections during a yellow light and making a lane change outside of certain turn lanes to continue traveling in a straight line, the NHTSA said.
NHTSA stated that "the system may insufficiently respond to changes in posted speed limits or fail to adequately account for driver adjustment of vehicle speed to exceed posted speed limits."
Last year, Tesla recalled nearly 54,000 US vehicles with FSD Beta software that may allow some models to make "rolling stops" and not come to a complete stop at some intersections, posing a safety risk, NHTSA said. .
Tesla and NHTSA acknowledged that FSD's advanced driving features do not make cars autonomous and require drivers to pay attention. This is made clear when the company, despite the name, claims that the system cannot drive itself and tells its owners that they must be ready at all times while using this technology. He also instructs them to keep their hands on the wheel and their eyes on the road.
