The US government looked into a number of crashes that were connected to the Autopilot system for two years before launching the Tesla recall, which impacts over two million vehicles
Nearly all of the cars that Tesla has sold in the US to
date, or over 2 million vehicles, are being recalled in order to correct a
defective system that was intended to ensure that drivers are paying attention
when using Autopilot.
According
to documents released today by the US National Highway Traffic SafetyAdministration (NHTSA), Tesla will try to resolve the issue by sending out a
software update rather than physically recalling cars.
The
Model X, Model S, Model Y, and Model 3 are among the nearly all-Tesla vehicles
sold in the United States that are affected by the recall. It affects vehicles
made between October 5, 2012, and December 7, 2023.
It
coincides with an ongoing two-year NHTSA investigation into a string of crashes
purportedly caused by the Autopilot system. More than 40 special crash
investigations involving Tesla vehicles and situations where advanced driver
assistance like Autopilot was suspected of being turned on have been opened by
the NHTSA since 2016. These investigations have revealed 19 crash-related
deaths.
According
to the NHTSA, the Tesala autopilot car approach to making sure drivers are focused and
in control is insufficient, and that "the prominence and scope of the
feature's controls may not be sufficient to prevent driver misuse in certain
circumstances when Autosteer is engaged." As for the NHTSA's investigation
into Tesla, it states that it will continue "to work with the automaker to
ensure the highest level of safety and monitor the efficacy of Tesla's
remedies."
In
addition to incorporating extra measures and warnings “to further encourage the
driver to adhere to their continuous driving responsibility,” the NHTSA safety
recall report mentions that Tesla's software update—which has been distributed
to certain vehicles and is currently in the process of being rolled out—seems
to restrict the locations in which Autosteer can be utilized.
According
to the NHTSA report, "additional controls will include, among other
things, making visual alerts more prominent on the user interface, making
Autosteer engagement and disengagement simpler, conducting additional checks
when using Autosteer, outside of controlled access highways, and when approaching
traffic controls. Lastly, Autosteer use may be suspended if the driver
repeatedly fails to demonstrate continuous and sustained driving responsibility
while the feature is engaged."
"Autopilot
is a hands-on driver assistance system that is intended to be used only with a
fully attentive driver," according to literature from Tesla. It does not
create autonomous driving or make a Tesla become self-driving. Thus, in spite
of its name, Autopilot is unable to drive for you; instead, it can only
automatically steer, accelerate, and brake in a lane.
Tesla
owners must consent to "maintain control and responsibility" for the
EV and to always keep their hands on the steering wheel before they can
activate Autopilot. When activated, Autopilot is meant to issue a sequence of
increasingly intense visual and auditory alerts, prompting drivers to apply
more torque to the wheel. In the event that a driver consistently disregards
these alerts, Autopilot will be disabled.
Although
some have discovered that these systems can be tricked by hanging a weight over
a steering wheel spoke, Autopilot, like many other advanced driver assistance
systems, requires a driver to keep their hands on the wheel.
Car and
Driver conducted an investigation in 2021 and discovered that, depending on the
model, it could take some cars anywhere from 25 to 40 seconds to flash a
warning when a driver took their hands off the wheel. Some cars would keep
going for another thirty seconds before braking if other drivers didn't react.
This implies that the Tesla system may operate autonomously for up to a mile at
highway speeds. Drivers have occasionally been observed improperly using the
back seat while Autopilot is engaged.
NHTSA investigators met with Tesla between mid-October and
mid-December of this year, according to the recall documents, to "discuss
the agency's tentative conclusions... as they related to the issue of potential
driver misuse when Autosteer is engaged." It continues by saying that
although Tesla agreed to "voluntarily administer a recall and provide the
remedy," the company disagreed with the agency's analysis.
