“Automated technology holds great promise for improving safety but only when it is deployed responsibly”
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)
(CMR) Tesla is recalling more than 2 million vehicles, nearly all those sold in the U.S., to update software and fix a defective system that’s supposed to ensure drivers are paying attention when using Autopilot.
According to a report by the Associated Press, the update will increase warnings and alerts to drivers and even limit the areas where basic versions of Autopilot can operate.
The recall comes after a two-year investigation by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration into a series of crashes, some deadly, that happened while the Autopilot partially automated driving system was in use.
An investigation found that Autopilot’s method of ensuring drivers are paying attention can be inadequate and lead to “foreseeable misuse of the system.”
A Florida judge ruled last month that a jury should decide whether Tesla and Elon Musk oversold the electric car company's Autopilot system that caused the fatal crash of a software engineer who engaged it and took his hands off the steering wheel. A trial is scheduled for 2024, according to AP.
On Tuesday, 12 December 2023, Virginia authorities determined that a Tesla was operating on its Autopilot system and was speeding in the moments leading to a crash with a crossing tractor-trailer last July that killed the Tesla driver.
Safety experts said that while the recall is a good step, it still makes the driver responsible and doesn’t fix the underlying problem that Tesla’s automated systems have with spotting and stopping for obstacles in their path.
The recall covers models Y, S, 3, and X produced between 5 October 2012 and 7 December this year. The update was to be sent to certain affected vehicles on Tuesday, with the rest getting it later.
Autopilot includes features called Autosteer and Traffic Aware Cruise Control, with Autosteer intended for use on limited-access freeways when it’s not operating, with a more sophisticated feature called Autosteer on City Streets. The software update will limit where Autosteer can be used.
“If the driver attempts to engage Autosteer when conditions are not met for engagement, the feature will alert the driver it is unavailable through visual and audible alerts, and Autosteer will not engage,” the recall documents said.
In August, U.S. auto safety regulators opened another investigation into safety problems with Tesla vehicles concerning the loss of steering control or loss of power steering in the 2023 Model 3 and Y electric vehicles.
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