Tesla, Elon Musk's company that leads the electric vehicle market, has been forced in the US to recall more than two million cars to repair the autopilot. Federal safety regulators found that this system lacks the controls necessary to prevent malfunctions.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) noted that the Tesla method, when the partially automated system is activated to keep drivers paying attention, is insufficient or inappropriate.
This review decision comes after more than a year of investigations into accidents recorded when Autopilot was activated. "There is a potential risk of accidents," the agency noted, when activated "and the driver does not maintain responsibility for vehicle operations and is not prepared to intervene if necessary or is unable to recognize that autopilot is out of service." or disconnected," he insisted in his statement.
The regulator indicated that the company sent a software update to fix the problem that affects several models. The call covers virtually all Teslas sold in the United States. These updates include additional controls to alert that the driver continues to pay attention to the responsibility of driving the car. Prevention includes reinforcing visual alerts.
The investigation remains open to "provide support or evaluate the effectiveness of the remedies (measures) deployed by the company," NHTSA insisted.
A recent report published by The Washington Post revealed that at least eight fatal or serious accidents had occurred with Autopilot in use on the road and the software could not operate correctly.
