Tesla said it will recall 3,62,000 U.S. vehicles to update its Full Self-Driving (FSD) beta software after U.S. regulators said Thursday the driver-assistance system doesn’t adequately comply with traffic safety laws and could cause accidents.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said Tesla software allows a vehicle to “exceed speed limits or navigate through intersections in an unlawful or unpredictable manner, increasing the risk of an accident.”
Tesla will be releasing a free over-the-air (OTA) software update, and the electric vehicle maker is not aware of any injuries or deaths that may be related to the recall issue. The automaker said it has 18 warranty claims.
Tesla shares fell 1.6 percent on Thursday afternoon to $210.76 (nearly Rs. 17,420).
The recall affects the Model S, Model X, Model X, Model 2017-2023 and Model Y 2020-2023 that are equipped with or have pending installation of FSD Beta software.
NHTSA asked Tesla to recall the vehicles, but the company said that despite the recall, it did not agree with NHTSA’s analysis. The move is a rare federal intrusion into a real-world testing program the company sees as crucial to developing cars that can drive themselves. FSD Beta is used by hundreds of thousands of Tesla customers.
The setback to Tesla’s automated driving efforts comes about two weeks ahead of the company’s January 1 Investor Day.
Tesla could not be immediately reached for comment.
NHTSA has launched an ongoing investigation into 8,30,000 Tesla vehicles equipped with Autopilot in 2021 for a series of parked emergency vehicle accidents. NHTSA tests whether Tesla vehicles provide adequate driver alertness. NHTSA said Thursday that despite the FSD recall, its “investigation of Tesla’s autopilot and related vehicle systems remains open and active.”
Tesla said that under “certain rare circumstances, the feature could potentially violate local traffic laws or custom while performing certain driving maneuvers.”
Possible situations where the issue could occur include driving or turning through certain intersections during a yellow light and performing a lane change out of certain turning lanes to continue straight, NHTSA said.
NHTSA said, “The system may respond inadequately to changes in advertised speed limits or may not adequately account for driver adjustments in vehicle speed to exceed advertised speed limits.”
Last year, Tesla recalled nearly 54,000 U.S. vehicles with FSD beta software that could allow some models to perform “rolling stops” and fail to fully come to a stop at some intersections, posing a safety risk, NHTSA said.
Tesla and NHTSA say FSD’s advanced driving features don’t make the cars autonomous and require driver attention.
© Thomson Reuters 2023
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